Flight of Mind
by bloggerofmywords
Summary: Some are ridiculed, beaten, lost, broken, or betrayed. They all have their walls up, but still try to take the other's down. They maybe different, labeled freaks by society, but they are heroes. And, more than that, they are a family. / OC story. Takes place during season one. Installment 1 of the Influence Series.
1. Spybird

**A/N: Hallie: REWRITE. This chapter has been completely rewritten as of July 13, 2016. It was seriously needed. **

**Emu: The original was horrendous. Just trust us on that one.**

**Hallie: So… yeah. We recommend you check out When Shadows Meet the Mind and Erstwhile Impression before that, but it isn't completely necessary.**

**We do not own DC or Young Justice.**

**I own Ren, Josh, and Creatonia.**

**Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarians.**

**Emu: Enjoy the better chapter! **

* * *

July 23, 2010

The eyes.

It was the eyes.

She couldn't shake the memory of seeing the pair of bright amber eyes peering on from the treeline. She and the Team were investigating Santa Prisca and the questionable things that were happening on the island.

It was near the end of the mission and Ren recalled herself helping M'gann and Superboy against Sportsmaster when suddenly he was holding the Martian in a chokehold. He had a gun, and even with the force field Ren had imagined, her Mental Energy wasn't robust enough to have kept it up while being shot at.

So, she froze and looked around- watching the situations her friends were caught up in and trying to assess a way to assist at least one of them- when she saw the eyes.

They were staring at the battle.

Watching them.

It wasn't long that she had her eyes set on them, but long enough to tell that they didn't belong to a wild animal. And they were distinct enough that the Creatonian was pretty sure she would be able to point them out if she saw them again.

Her curious nature and strong need to have answers to everything kept Serenity Logan's mind whirring with questions.

Who were they?

What did they want?

Ren was shot out of her thoughts when a sharp knock at her door sounded. Rolling herself off from her bed, she trudged across her bedroom at Wayne Manor and opened the door. Standing on the other side was the idiot she called a best friend.

Opening the door all the way, she moved over to allow the Acrobat to enter her room completely. Dick flopped himself in her desk chair before spinning around in it to face her, "What's got you all quiet today? We won!"

Ren tucked a strand of her red hair behind an ear as she took a seat on her bed. Sighing, she replied, "I saw something- someone- watching us on the mission today."

He sat up straighter and leaned forward, "Seriously? Who?"

"Exactly what I'm wondering. All I saw was a pair of eyes that I know belonged to another person."

"How?"

"I can just feel it."

Gut instinct was something Ren could nearly always rely on. Her Uncle Bruce told her that her father, Joshua, was the same way. All the knowledge she had on her father came from the limited memories she could recall of her first two years with him and her mother. The rest came from what her Godfather told her.

Dick rested his elbow on the back of her chair and sat his chin in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed, "You think it's anything we need to worry about? Want to tell Bruce?"

She glanced down, "I… I'm not quite sure yet."

Standing up, the Boy Wonder nodded towards the open door, "Well, think about it over dinner. Bruce and Gar are waiting for us."

Ren nodded, following him as he exited her bedroom.

Why couldn't she shake the feeling that these eyes were prominent in one way or another?

* * *

Night had fallen and minutes kept ticking by, yet Ren still couldn't catch some shut eye. Her mind was still buzzing with thoughts on what she had seen at Santa Prisca. She wasn't sure why she was so hung up on a pair of eyes, but she couldn't help but think that there was something more to them.

Giving up on getting some sleep, she sat up and flicked on her bedside lamp. Her green eyes rested on a photo of her late parents- Joshua and Marie Logan- that Bruce had taken when they were all in college together. Eleven years since that night…

She shook her head, not wanting her mind to drift down that path.

Whenever she was left in a mental rut, she would think about what her dad would do. The idea of her father and who he was made Ren smile beyond all reason.

All she wanted to do was to keep his memory alive.

To make him proud.

His influence mostly affected her when she was training with her powers. She was supposed to be her father's- called Image- protege under the name Fantasia. Her ability to manifest her imagination came from him and the race they were from: Creatonians.

Training was difficult. Her powers took quite a bit to control, and she had to be careful to ration her daily Mental Energy correctly, or bad things could happen.

But, if her father could do it, so could she.

How would Joshua Logan handle this situation?

Find out more. Evaluate and investigate. That's what Josh did when he began to question what his college roommate, Bruce Wayne, really did during his nightly disappearances.

But how would she gather more intel? Deciding on a plan of action caused the girl's mind to calm down, and a yawn escaped her lips.

She'd figure it out in the morning.

* * *

July 24, 2010

"Shayera, I don't know about this," Autumn Pines murmured as she and her mentor approached the Zeta-Tubes. "I mean, I've only been training for a year. Are you sure I'm ready to join an actual team?"

Her mentor rolled her eyes. They'd had this conversation at least three times already. She couldn't understand why her protege was so hesitant about this. "Autumn, you're just as good of a fighter as them. Just follow the instructions from your mission leader and you'll be fine."

"But I'm-"

"Only twelve and have trust issues, I know. And stop playing with that, you know it drives me crazy," she added as she pulled the young girl's hands away from the charm dangling off her belt loop.

"Sorry."

The older heroine's eyes softened, and she sighed. Kneeling down to match Autumn's height, she looked her straight in the eyes and said, "You'll be okay. They won't do anything to you, and you'll have no problem keeping up with them. You don't need to tell anyone anything that you don't want to, but this could be the perfect opportunity to finally make some friends. And if it doesn't work out or you just don't want to be there, you can always come home. Okay?"

The girl nodded with a small smile. "Okay, Shay."

"Good." Shayera stood up and gently ruffled her protege's dark hair. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be."

With that, the two Thanagarians deactivated their civvie charms, and Hawkwoman and Screech Owl stepped into the Zeta Tube.

* * *

_Recognized, Hawkwoman. 11. _

_Recognized, Screech Owl. B08. _

As the computer called the names of the two people entering the Cave, the majority of the Team was already waiting for them. Earlier that day, they had been informed that they would be gaining a new member. While Fantasia didn't mind the idea of meeting someone knew, she wanted to get away to do some research to see what she could find on reports of amber eyes being seen in areas around Santa Prisca.

But, when the two females stepped into the central section of the Cave, the Creatonian froze. Her gaze locking on the smaller of the two, attention going straight to the pair of amber eyes she sported.

Those eyes…

They were the exact same ones she had seen on the mission.

Batman stepped forward to introduce the new member, "Team, this is your new member, her name is-"

"YOU!" Ren pointed at the Owl Thanagarian, who stepped back in fear at the Creatonian's outburst.

Screech glanced over at her mentor, who also looked taken aback. _What could I have done wrong in the time span of ten seconds?! _

"It was you!"

"Who?" Robin glanced over at Fantasia in confusion.

"She was the one who I caught spying on us during last night's mission!"

"Spying!?" M'gann exclaimed.

"I spotted her eyes watching us from the trees!" Fantasia began to calm down after her little epiphany and started to get a good look at the new girl, who had begun to close in on herself. A pang of guilt pulled at her chest. Had she scared her? Speaking softer, she said, "So, you're on our side. Not theirs."

The Owl nodded in a small fashion.

All eyes turned to Screech Owl, and Aqualad stepped forward. "Is this true?"

_Of all the things I had to forget that night, it had to be my eye color glamor charm. I didn't think I'd need it here! _ Screech thought as she shrunk back under the gazes of the Team and a displeased Hawkwoman. "Yes," she whispered. Louder and a little frantic, she continued, "I'm really sorry, I-"

Before Screech could finish, the infamous junior speedster- ironically known for being late- joined the party. He took a place next to Fantasia, "Hey, who's the new girl?"

"The 'new girl' is named Screech Owl, and she is your new teammate. You might have known this if you ever happened to show up on time to meetings." The Dark Knight deadpanned.

Aqualad rolled his eyes and brought the topic back to Screech Owl. "As you were saying..."

The girl was rather disappointed that the attention was returned to her, but gathered her thoughts and continued. "I heard Hawkwoman talking and... I got curious. I've heard of this team before and wanted to see you guys in action."

Aqualad looked rather pleased with this newfound information. "I see our reputation precedes us."

Batman interrupted the little bonding moment, "As sweet as this is, we're going to have to cut it short. Hawkwoman and I have League business to attend to, and all of you have training with Black Canary, starting now."

The Team began to file over to the training area, and Fantasia fell into step next to Screech Owl, curious about who her new teammate was. She had a suspicion that the Thanagarian wasn't revealing the entire truth about why she was on that island.

Screech, in turn, took a step away, apprehensive of being so close to the girl who yelled at her seconds after she entered the room.

With one last over-the-shoulder wave and nervous smile at her mentor, Autumn left with her new Team. Hawkwoman returned the gesture and stepped into the Zeta Tube.

_Recognized, Hawkwoman. 11. _

_Recognized, Batman. 02. _

* * *

Training came and went, and the Team dispersed to do their own thing around Mount Justice. Fantasia found herself hanging out in the lounge with Robin when she saw Screech Owl awkwardly walking around. She was looking about with wide eyes, taking in her new surroundings.

Robin turned and spoke up before the Creatonian could, "Hey, Screech! Good job in training today."

Pulled from her thoughts, Screech startled, spinning to look at the Boy Wonder. Realizing who had spoken, she calmed down and said softly, "Thanks. Same to you two."

Fantasia leaned her arms on the back of the couch, craning her body to face the smaller girl, "So, Spybird, need someone to show you around?"

Screech instantly felt uneasy. First, this girl yelled at her. Then, she called her Spybird. Was she just teasing, or being malicious? She was offering a tour and didn't sound mad, so it was probably the former, but…

Seeing the look of apprehension on her new team member's face, Fantasia placed a calming smile on hers, "Chill kiddo; I was just joking about the nickname thing."

"Oh," the Owl said, embarrassed. "Right. Well, if you're not busy, I would like a tour."

"I'm just sitting here with this dork," she replied, nudging the acrobat next to her. "It's no problem to do it now."

Standing up, she made her way around the couch and stopped next to Screech. After a moment, Fantasia began to walk in the direction of the library- where they would start their tour.

The Creatonian left nothing out when showing the Thanagarian around. She was sure to add in her favorite parts of each section, including the best times to eat- before Wally got there- when they entered the kitchen area. Finally, the duo came to the sleeping quarters wing. Fantasia motioned towards the room that Screech could call hers if she needed to spend the night at the Cave, "Only Superboy and M'gann live here full time. The rest of us will crash once in awhile, but that's about it."

When they reached the Owl's door, Fantasia turned and asked the question that had been on her mind for the past few hours, "The island, why were you really there?"

Screech shrugged and repeated her earlier half-truth, "Same as I said before. I overheard Hawkwoman talking about the Team, got curious, and went to take a look."

Scrunching up her face, the Creatonian disagreed, "I'm a very curious person, and even I wouldn't put myself into that situation. There's more to it, isn't there?"

"Not really."

"I don't believe you."

"Your problem, not mine," Screech said. She walked into her room and tried to close the door, hoping the other girl would take the hint.

Fantasia got the hint, but she didn't care. Blocking the door with her foot, she forced it open a bit wider with her hand, "We're teammates now, and I like to be friends with my teammates. But, we can't be friends if you're not telling me the whole truth. I was raised under Batman's rules, trust me, I won't tell a soul."

"Not a _living _ soul, maybe," Screech muttered just loud enough for the Creatonian to hear. She was starting to get irritated with her.

"Dude. I don't mess with the dead. Too creepy. Too not my thing."

"Sorry, bad joke."

"You can joke?" Fantasia deadpanned.

Screech rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I've been told my sense of humor is dry as a desert, but yes, I can joke."

"Cool. Cool. But, stop trying to change the subject. Storytime." Forcing the door completely open, the Creatonian entered the room and plopped herself on the empty bed.

Exasperated and annoyed, the younger girl closed her eyes. "Fine." If it will get you to leave. "The Hawks told me about the Team a week or so ago. They said they wanted me to consider joining, but I was indecisive. I didn't think I'd be able to hold my own and didn't know what kind of people you were, so when I heard about the mission in Santa Prisca, I went to evaluate on those fronts. I'm still not sure if joining was a good idea," she opened her eyes and looked at her new teammate, "but Hawkwoman and Hawkman thought it was, so... Here I am."

Fantasia nodded, silent for a moment, before asking, "Why were you worried about what type of people we are? We're heroes."

Screech glanced at the wall and muttered, "Trust issues."

"Due to what?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Not until I get the answers I want."

Screech groaned to herself, rubbing her hand over her face. "So, this could go on all night."

"Yes, it very much could. We can do this the quick way or the long way, depending on how stubborn you are compared to me."

Screw it, I just want her to leave me alone. "Okay, you win." She sat on her bed, as far from Fantasia as she could, fixed her eyes on the opposite wall, and began. "I'm from Thanagar, where there are two races. Many equalists, including myself, call the minority, Owls, and the majority, Hawks. I'm an Owl, which doesn't go over well where I'm from."

Screech went on to explain how she was a primary target in her classroom, and how nobody did anything about it until a Hawk named Gavina came along. She told her how that didn't last, and that the Hawk girl she had thought to be her friend turned on her less than a year later. "I wasn't worth the trouble, I guess."

She went on to when her parents, the only people she really cared about, were killed in an anti-owl hate crime that she had also been caught in. "I only got away because of them." Then, how she escaped Thanagar and made her way to Earth, spending two years on the streets of various cities until she was kidnapped by Venom makers and rescued by Hawkwoman.

During the recollection of the Owl's past, Fantasia remained an active listener. And when one question was answered, she asked another, hand absentmindedly combing through her pink bun she wore in hero form as she listened.

The Creatonian's heart felt heavy after hearing the trials the smaller girl had been put through. Scooting across the bed, she reached over and gave her new teammate a hug- getting the feeling she hadn't had one in a while.

The Owl tensed up instinctively but didn't push the older girl away. She hadn't received many hugs in past years, but she had to admit that it felt nice. As long as she doesn't touch my wings, I will allow it, she decided, relaxing a bit.

She wasn't sure how much later it was when they parted, but she was disappointed when Fantasia pulled away.

The Creatonian looked closely at the young Owl. "You good?"

"Yeah," Screech replied, slipping a small smile on her face.

The two were silent for a moment before the elder girl spoke up, "You've gone by Screech Owl so far, but do you plan to tell us your real name? Or has Hawkie sworn you to secrecy like Batdude has for Robin and me?"

Plucking at the quilt, the Thanagarian said, "Well, no, but..."

"But what? Is telling me a name going to kill you?"

"I guess not..." Finally turning her gaze from the wall, the girl looked shyly at her teammate. "My name's Autumn… Pines."

Standing up, the Creatonian grinned at the Owl, the violet eyes from her hero form glittering with excitement, "Well, Autumn, we are friends now."

A woosh of air blasted into the room from the slightly open door as Wally came rushing in. His attention was locked on Fantasia, "Tasia! I found you. Listen, you've got to come help me with something."

"With?"

"A thing. A funny thing- involving Rob."

A mischievous smirk made its way onto Fantasia's face, "Say no more. I'm in." She started to head towards the door with the speedster, but not before spinning back towards the Thanagarian to ruffle her hair, "And welcome to the Team, kiddo."

"Thanks," she said as the two left. The door closed, and she added quietly, "For everything."

Leaning back on her mattress, the Owl stared at the ceiling. What had she gotten herself into?

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She- possibly- had a friend, and it was only day one.

She smiled. This could work out.

* * *

_Fin_


	2. Redheaded Roots

**A/N: Hallie: REWRITE. This chapter has been completely rewritten as of July 13, 2016. It was seriously needed. **

**Emu: The original was horrendous. Just trust us on that one.**

**Hallie: So… yeah. We recommend you check out When Shadows Meet the Mind and Erstwhile Impression before that, but it isn't completely necessary.**

**We do not own DC or Young Justice.**

**I own Ren, Josh, and Creatonia.**

**Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarians.**

**Emu: Enjoy the better chapter! **

* * *

July 23, 2010

The eyes.

It was the eyes.

She couldn't shake the memory of seeing the pair of bright amber eyes peering on from the treeline. She and the Team were investigating Santa Prisca and the questionable things that were happening on the island.

It was near the end of the mission and Ren recalled herself helping M'gann and Superboy against Sportsmaster when suddenly he was holding the Martian in a chokehold. He had a gun, and even with the force field Ren had imagined, her Mental Energy wasn't robust enough to have kept it up while being shot at.

So, she froze and looked around- watching the situations her friends were caught up in and trying to assess a way to assist at least one of them- when she saw the eyes.

They were staring at the battle.

Watching them.

It wasn't long that she had her eyes set on them, but long enough to tell that they didn't belong to a wild animal. And they were distinct enough that the Creatonian was pretty sure she would be able to point them out if she saw them again.

Her curious nature and strong need to have answers to everything kept Serenity Logan's mind whirring with questions.

Who were they?

What did they want?

Ren was shot out of her thoughts when a sharp knock at her door sounded. Rolling herself off from her bed, she trudged across her bedroom at Wayne Manor and opened the door. Standing on the other side was the idiot she called a best friend.

Opening the door all the way, she moved over to allow the Acrobat to enter her room completely. Dick flopped himself in her desk chair before spinning around in it to face her, "What's got you all quiet today? We won!"

Ren tucked a strand of her red hair behind an ear as she took a seat on her bed. Sighing, she replied, "I saw something- someone- watching us on the mission today."

He sat up straighter and leaned forward, "Seriously? Who?"

"Exactly what I'm wondering. All I saw was a pair of eyes that I know belonged to another person."

"How?"

"I can just feel it."

Gut instinct was something Ren could nearly always rely on. Her Uncle Bruce told her that her father, Joshua, was the same way. All the knowledge she had on her father came from the limited memories she could recall of her first two years with him and her mother. The rest came from what her Godfather told her.

Dick rested his elbow on the back of her chair and sat his chin in his hand. His eyebrows furrowed, "You think it's anything we need to worry about? Want to tell Bruce?"

She glanced down, "I… I'm not quite sure yet."

Standing up, the Boy Wonder nodded towards the open door, "Well, think about it over dinner. Bruce and Gar are waiting for us."

Ren nodded, following him as he exited her bedroom.

Why couldn't she shake the feeling that these eyes were prominent in one way or another?

* * *

Night had fallen and minutes kept ticking by, yet Ren still couldn't catch some shut eye. Her mind was still buzzing with thoughts on what she had seen at Santa Prisca. She wasn't sure why she was so hung up on a pair of eyes, but she couldn't help but think that there was something more to them.

Giving up on getting some sleep, she sat up and flicked on her bedside lamp. Her green eyes rested on a photo of her late parents- Joshua and Marie Logan- that Bruce had taken when they were all in college together. Eleven years since that night…

She shook her head, not wanting her mind to drift down that path.

Whenever she was left in a mental rut, she would think about what her dad would do. The idea of her father and who he was made Ren smile beyond all reason.

All she wanted to do was to keep his memory alive.

To make him proud.

His influence mostly affected her when she was training with her powers. She was supposed to be her father's- called Image- protege under the name Fantasia. Her ability to manifest her imagination came from him and the race they were from: Creatonians.

Training was difficult. Her powers took quite a bit to control, and she had to be careful to ration her daily Mental Energy correctly, or bad things could happen.

But, if her father could do it, so could she.

How would Joshua Logan handle this situation?

Find out more. Evaluate and investigate. That's what Josh did when he began to question what his college roommate, Bruce Wayne, really did during his nightly disappearances.

But how would she gather more intel? Deciding on a plan of action caused the girl's mind to calm down, and a yawn escaped her lips.

She'd figure it out in the morning.

* * *

July 24, 2010

"Shayera, I don't know about this," Autumn Pines murmured as she and her mentor approached the Zeta-Tubes. "I mean, I've only been training for a year. Are you sure I'm ready to join an actual team?"

Her mentor rolled her eyes. They'd had this conversation at least three times already. She couldn't understand why her protege was so hesitant about this. "Autumn, you're just as good of a fighter as them. Just follow the instructions from your mission leader and you'll be fine."

"But I'm-"

"Only twelve and have trust issues, I know. And stop playing with that, you know it drives me crazy," she added as she pulled the young girl's hands away from the charm dangling off her belt loop.

"Sorry."

The older heroine's eyes softened, and she sighed. Kneeling down to match Autumn's height, she looked her straight in the eyes and said, "You'll be okay. They won't do anything to you, and you'll have no problem keeping up with them. You don't need to tell anyone anything that you don't want to, but this could be the perfect opportunity to finally make some friends. And if it doesn't work out or you just don't want to be there, you can always come home. Okay?"

The girl nodded with a small smile. "Okay, Shay."

"Good." Shayera stood up and gently ruffled her protege's dark hair. "Ready to go?"

"As I'll ever be."

With that, the two Thanagarians deactivated their civvie charms, and Hawkwoman and Screech Owl stepped into the Zeta Tube.

* * *

_Recognized, Hawkwoman. 11. _

_Recognized, Screech Owl. B08. _

As the computer called the names of the two people entering the Cave, the majority of the Team was already waiting for them. Earlier that day, they had been informed that they would be gaining a new member. While Fantasia didn't mind the idea of meeting someone knew, she wanted to get away to do some research to see what she could find on reports of amber eyes being seen in areas around Santa Prisca.

But, when the two females stepped into the central section of the Cave, the Creatonian froze. Her gaze locking on the smaller of the two, attention going straight to the pair of amber eyes she sported.

Those eyes…

They were the exact same ones she had seen on the mission.

Batman stepped forward to introduce the new member, "Team, this is your new member, her name is-"

"YOU!" Ren pointed at the Owl Thanagarian, who stepped back in fear at the Creatonian's outburst.

Screech glanced over at her mentor, who also looked taken aback. _What could I have done wrong in the time span of ten seconds?! _

"It was you!"

"Who?" Robin glanced over at Fantasia in confusion.

"She was the one who I caught spying on us during last night's mission!"

"Spying!?" M'gann exclaimed.

"I spotted her eyes watching us from the trees!" Fantasia began to calm down after her little epiphany and started to get a good look at the new girl, who had begun to close in on herself. A pang of guilt pulled at her chest. Had she scared her? Speaking softer, she said, "So, you're on our side. Not theirs."

The Owl nodded in a small fashion.

All eyes turned to Screech Owl, and Aqualad stepped forward. "Is this true?"

_Of all the things I had to forget that night, it had to be my eye color glamor charm. I didn't think I'd need it here! _ Screech thought as she shrunk back under the gazes of the Team and a displeased Hawkwoman. "Yes," she whispered. Louder and a little frantic, she continued, "I'm really sorry, I-"

Before Screech could finish, the infamous junior speedster- ironically known for being late- joined the party. He took a place next to Fantasia, "Hey, who's the new girl?"

"The 'new girl' is named Screech Owl, and she is your new teammate. You might have known this if you ever happened to show up on time to meetings." The Dark Knight deadpanned.

Aqualad rolled his eyes and brought the topic back to Screech Owl. "As you were saying..."

The girl was rather disappointed that the attention was returned to her, but gathered her thoughts and continued. "I heard Hawkwoman talking and... I got curious. I've heard of this team before and wanted to see you guys in action."

Aqualad looked rather pleased with this newfound information. "I see our reputation precedes us."

Batman interrupted the little bonding moment, "As sweet as this is, we're going to have to cut it short. Hawkwoman and I have League business to attend to, and all of you have training with Black Canary, starting now."

The Team began to file over to the training area, and Fantasia fell into step next to Screech Owl, curious about who her new teammate was. She had a suspicion that the Thanagarian wasn't revealing the entire truth about why she was on that island.

Screech, in turn, took a step away, apprehensive of being so close to the girl who yelled at her seconds after she entered the room.

With one last over-the-shoulder wave and nervous smile at her mentor, Autumn left with her new Team. Hawkwoman returned the gesture and stepped into the Zeta Tube.

_Recognized, Hawkwoman. 11. _

_Recognized, Batman. 02. _

* * *

Training came and went, and the Team dispersed to do their own thing around Mount Justice. Fantasia found herself hanging out in the lounge with Robin when she saw Screech Owl awkwardly walking around. She was looking about with wide eyes, taking in her new surroundings.

Robin turned and spoke up before the Creatonian could, "Hey, Screech! Good job in training today."

Pulled from her thoughts, Screech startled, spinning to look at the Boy Wonder. Realizing who had spoken, she calmed down and said softly, "Thanks. Same to you two."

Fantasia leaned her arms on the back of the couch, craning her body to face the smaller girl, "So, Spybird, need someone to show you around?"

Screech instantly felt uneasy. First, this girl yelled at her. Then, she called her Spybird. Was she just teasing, or being malicious? She was offering a tour and didn't sound mad, so it was probably the former, but…

Seeing the look of apprehension on her new team member's face, Fantasia placed a calming smile on hers, "Chill kiddo; I was just joking about the nickname thing."

"Oh," the Owl said, embarrassed. "Right. Well, if you're not busy, I would like a tour."

"I'm just sitting here with this dork," she replied, nudging the acrobat next to her. "It's no problem to do it now."

Standing up, she made her way around the couch and stopped next to Screech. After a moment, Fantasia began to walk in the direction of the library- where they would start their tour.

The Creatonian left nothing out when showing the Thanagarian around. She was sure to add in her favorite parts of each section, including the best times to eat- before Wally got there- when they entered the kitchen area. Finally, the duo came to the sleeping quarters wing. Fantasia motioned towards the room that Screech could call hers if she needed to spend the night at the Cave, "Only Superboy and M'gann live here full time. The rest of us will crash once in awhile, but that's about it."

When they reached the Owl's door, Fantasia turned and asked the question that had been on her mind for the past few hours, "The island, why were you really there?"

Screech shrugged and repeated her earlier half-truth, "Same as I said before. I overheard Hawkwoman talking about the Team, got curious, and went to take a look."

Scrunching up her face, the Creatonian disagreed, "I'm a very curious person, and even I wouldn't put myself into that situation. There's more to it, isn't there?"

"Not really."

"I don't believe you."

"Your problem, not mine," Screech said. She walked into her room and tried to close the door, hoping the other girl would take the hint.

Fantasia got the hint, but she didn't care. Blocking the door with her foot, she forced it open a bit wider with her hand, "We're teammates now, and I like to be friends with my teammates. But, we can't be friends if you're not telling me the whole truth. I was raised under Batman's rules, trust me, I won't tell a soul."

"Not a _living _ soul, maybe," Screech muttered just loud enough for the Creatonian to hear. She was starting to get irritated with her.

"Dude. I don't mess with the dead. Too creepy. Too not my thing."

"Sorry, bad joke."

"You can joke?" Fantasia deadpanned.

Screech rolled her eyes sarcastically. "I've been told my sense of humor is dry as a desert, but yes, I can joke."

"Cool. Cool. But, stop trying to change the subject. Storytime." Forcing the door completely open, the Creatonian entered the room and plopped herself on the empty bed.

Exasperated and annoyed, the younger girl closed her eyes. "Fine." If it will get you to leave. "The Hawks told me about the Team a week or so ago. They said they wanted me to consider joining, but I was indecisive. I didn't think I'd be able to hold my own and didn't know what kind of people you were, so when I heard about the mission in Santa Prisca, I went to evaluate on those fronts. I'm still not sure if joining was a good idea," she opened her eyes and looked at her new teammate, "but Hawkwoman and Hawkman thought it was, so... Here I am."

Fantasia nodded, silent for a moment, before asking, "Why were you worried about what type of people we are? We're heroes."

Screech glanced at the wall and muttered, "Trust issues."

"Due to what?"

"Do you ever stop asking questions?"

"Not until I get the answers I want."

Screech groaned to herself, rubbing her hand over her face. "So, this could go on all night."

"Yes, it very much could. We can do this the quick way or the long way, depending on how stubborn you are compared to me."

Screw it, I just want her to leave me alone. "Okay, you win." She sat on her bed, as far from Fantasia as she could, fixed her eyes on the opposite wall, and began. "I'm from Thanagar, where there are two races. Many equalists, including myself, call the minority, Owls, and the majority, Hawks. I'm an Owl, which doesn't go over well where I'm from."

Screech went on to explain how she was a primary target in her classroom, and how nobody did anything about it until a Hawk named Gavina came along. She told her how that didn't last, and that the Hawk girl she had thought to be her friend turned on her less than a year later. "I wasn't worth the trouble, I guess."

She went on to when her parents, the only people she really cared about, were killed in an anti-owl hate crime that she had also been caught in. "I only got away because of them." Then, how she escaped Thanagar and made her way to Earth, spending two years on the streets of various cities until she was kidnapped by Venom makers and rescued by Hawkwoman.

During the recollection of the Owl's past, Fantasia remained an active listener. And when one question was answered, she asked another, hand absentmindedly combing through her pink bun she wore in hero form as she listened.

The Creatonian's heart felt heavy after hearing the trials the smaller girl had been put through. Scooting across the bed, she reached over and gave her new teammate a hug- getting the feeling she hadn't had one in a while.

The Owl tensed up instinctively but didn't push the older girl away. She hadn't received many hugs in past years, but she had to admit that it felt nice. As long as she doesn't touch my wings, I will allow it, she decided, relaxing a bit.

She wasn't sure how much later it was when they parted, but she was disappointed when Fantasia pulled away.

The Creatonian looked closely at the young Owl. "You good?"

"Yeah," Screech replied, slipping a small smile on her face.

The two were silent for a moment before the elder girl spoke up, "You've gone by Screech Owl so far, but do you plan to tell us your real name? Or has Hawkie sworn you to secrecy like Batdude has for Robin and me?"

Plucking at the quilt, the Thanagarian said, "Well, no, but..."

"But what? Is telling me a name going to kill you?"

"I guess not..." Finally turning her gaze from the wall, the girl looked shyly at her teammate. "My name's Autumn… Pines."

Standing up, the Creatonian grinned at the Owl, the violet eyes from her hero form glittering with excitement, "Well, Autumn, we are friends now."

A woosh of air blasted into the room from the slightly open door as Wally came rushing in. His attention was locked on Fantasia, "Tasia! I found you. Listen, you've got to come help me with something."

"With?"

"A thing. A funny thing- involving Rob."

A mischievous smirk made its way onto Fantasia's face, "Say no more. I'm in." She started to head towards the door with the speedster, but not before spinning back towards the Thanagarian to ruffle her hair, "And welcome to the Team, kiddo."

"Thanks," she said as the two left. The door closed, and she added quietly, "For everything."

Leaning back on her mattress, the Owl stared at the ceiling. What had she gotten herself into?

Maybe it wouldn't be too bad. She- possibly- had a friend, and it was only day one.

She smiled. This could work out.


	3. Ruffled Feathers

**A/N: **

**Hallie: We're baaaccckkk! #notdead**

**Emu: And that, my friends, is what happens when you get Hallie hooked on BBC Sherlock. #Didyoumissme **

**Hallie: She ruined my life.**

**Emu: *Smirks* Hey, what're friends for? And don't pretend you don't love the show. **

**Hallie: So in love, it daunts me. Okay, first… Robin might be OOC in this… I'M SORRY BAE! I love you.**

**Emu: Well, that may have been my fault... Sorry, Rob. :)**

**Hallie: Back off. He's mine. We don't own Young Justice, DC, Sherlock, the iPod, or Netflix. _We do own our OC's._**

**Emu: *mutters* I just apologized, not like I was flirting with him.**

**Hallie: MINE! **

**Emu: AWARE!**

**Hallie: _The backstories for Ren and Autumn are being posted in parts under the story: It's All Led Up to Now._**

**Emu: We hope you check them out! If Autumn seems too dull or something, let me know. Now break out the popcorn and enjoy the oneshot!**

**Hallie: I'm trying really hard not to make Ren a Mary Sue… If she seems to be, bring it up in the reviews! Thanks. Enjoy. **

* * *

_Recognized, Fantasia. B01._

_Recognized, Screech Owl. B08._

Robin glared at the Zeta tubes from his position on the couch. Fantasia was talking to Screech, who chuckled in response to whatever it was Fantasia had said. He let the glare hang for a second before he got up and walked over to the two, a smile plastered onto his face.

"Tas! You're back," he said in greeting.

"Hey, bird brain," she responded with a smirk.

Screech waved to him with a small smile. "Hi Robin."

He nodded. "Screech. Tasia, can I talk to you?"

Screech glanced up at the older boy before turning back to her friend. "I was just about to go to the training room." She started walking away and threw a wave over her shoulder. "See you later, Fanta!"

As soon as Robin thought Screech was out of earshot, he voiced a thought that had been on his mind. "There's something off about her."

However, Screech had heard, with her owl hearing that she may have forgotten the team didn't know about yet. Cocking her head, she thought, '_What's he on about?'_

"What do you mean?" Fantasia asked.

"Something about her feels off."

"What? Do you think she's the mole we heard Bats mention?"

'_Whatnow?!' _Screech cringed.

"Maybe," Robin shrugged. "We don't know much about her."

"I do! And I know it's not her! Why is this coming from the guy who trusts Artemis when Wally and Roy don't?"

"We know Artemis."

"And I know Screech."

"Then tell me about her."

"I promised not to. You of all people should know how much I hold on to my promises."

Screech ran off for the training room before she could hear any more. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop and besides, her friend had her back.

"I know..." Robin replied. "I-I just don't feel comfortable around her. I don't know why."

"Talk to her. Find out why."

Robin nodded and walked towards the training room, where he found Screech practicing controlled ariel dives, her coat hanging on the door. He caught her eye and said, "Hey."

She landed in front of him and pulled her trench coat back on, once again covering her wings. "Hello."

"Why?" Robin asked.

"'Why' what?"

"Why are you here?"

The Thanagarian was giving him an odd look now. "In the training room? Because you wanted to talk to Fantasia, so I decided to practice some stuff."

"On the team. Why did you join?"

A shrug. "Hawkwoman heard about the team and figured it was a good idea for me to join up. I didn't really have much say in the matter.

"You always have a say."

"Not with Shayera," Screech muttered to herself before directing her words at the Boy Wonder. "It's almost never worth arguing with Hawkwoman, and besides, I've learned she normally knows what she's talking about."

Robin's eyes narrowed. "Who are you?"

Screech shifted a bit now, uncomfortable under Robin's shaded gaze. "I'm Screech owl, protégé of Hawkwoman and fellow former Thanagarian."

"Then why are you on Earth? And why are you hanging around with Fantasia so much?"

Screech's mental alarms started going off, and she hardened a bit, choosing her next words carefully. "Thanagar isn't a good place for owls, and is it wrong to hang out with a friend?"

"Why is she your friend?"

"Because she was nice to me. Besides, if you remember correctly, she didn't want to talk to me at first. You convinced her."

"Now tell me," Robin said softly, almost threateningly; "did I make a mistake?"

"No, of course not! What are you getting at?"

"You see... Tasia is one of my best friends. She tells me everything. Except for anything about you. I know she keeps her promises... but it's odd for her. Now... I need to know you won't hurt her."

Screech pursed her lips a little. "If you think I'm manipulating her in any way, you're wrong. I would never hurt her intentionally." She added the last word knowing that you can't always protect someone; especially if you're both superheroes. "She's keeping a personal secret for me; to my understanding, that's what friends do."

"Then tell me why I feel like I can't trust you."

The owl girl spread her hands out in exasperation. "I can't tell you what I don't know. I'm not a mind reader. Maybe you just have a slight distrusting or protective nature."

"I trust Artemis fine, and I know you've heard the rumors about her."

'_Protective it is,' _Screech thought, before launching into a slightly sarcastic, "Well there goes my theory out the window!" Going back to a normal tone, she continued. "Dude, I seriously have no idea why you feel like you can't trust me, except maybe that you've known me for a mere few weeks. I've done nothing wrong; nothing that I know of." A thought hit her. "Wait... Is this about that incident during the mission in Santa Prisca?

Robin ignored the question. "Why Fantasia?"

"I don't know, because she offered friendship first and I'm not the best at making friends on my own? Seems plausible to me." Screech was getting more and more frustrated and uncomfortable. Her feathers were bristling under her coat and she felt instincts flooding in and sense flooding out.

"But why you?"

She snapped. "We have a connection on a major front. Neither of us have biological parents anymore. And neither do you."

Robin looked shocked for just a second before his expression hardened. "...WELL AT LEAST I'M NOT A FREAK!"

Screech stared back at him. The word "freak" echoed in her head as the voices of her old classmates and the people who had discovered her on the street. "W-what do you mean?" '_Did Fantasia tell him something? Does he agree with the Thanagarians?'_

"I mean, at least I'm not part bird. That's not normal."

"Well neither is shapeshifting, or running so fast you blur out, or being able to leap over entire buildings! But I'm almost certain you haven't called Miss. Martian, Kid Flash or Superboy freaks! This entire team is abnormal for humans, and I'm not even one! You wouldn't go up to Hawkwoman and call her that, so why me?"

"Because Tasia feels sorry for you."

"So because your best friend feels sorry for me, you call me a freak. How does that make any sense?"

"She isn't friends with freaks."

The owl shook her head. "What gives you the impression that she's been faking a friendship? Does she not feel sorry for misfortunes bestowed upon friends? Is that your hint?"

Robin stepped closer, his eyebrows scrunching together in an obvious glare. "You're a pity case. She's a fixer."

"Is that how you two started out?" Screech shot back. It was a shot in the dark that she didn't know hit its mark.

"No. We started out with something you two don't have," Robin told her cooly.

"Which is...?"

"A connection."

Screech just stared at Robin, thinking, '_We had a connection too... didn't we? Could this friendship just be another trick?'_

Unbeknownst to her, her expression had been changing with her thoughts. First incredulity, then hope, and lastly, doubt.

"She may like you. She may understand you. But she knows you will hurt her in the end."

The twelve year old hero felt her eyes burning and clenched them shut, trying to hide it, along with her scar, under more exasperation. "What did I ever do to you to make you think this? Or, if you're telling me something Fantasia told you, to make her believe it?"

"Ask her," Robin replied as he walked out quickly, his eyes beginning to burn.

Fantasia walked in, "Ask me what?"

The amber-eyed girl turned away slightly and stared at the ground. She felt her walls build up a bit. She tried to keep her tone light. "Nothing important."

Fantasia stepped closer. "Tell me..."

"It's just... Well... It's stupid, trust me. Not worth your time."

"Why?"

"I-I..." She sighed and dropped the act, looking the older girl in the eyes but, unable to keep contact, looked back down. "We _are _friends... Right? I'm not just a fixer-upper?"

Fantasia looked surprised. "Yeah, of-"

She was interrupted when a certain junior speedster ran into the room, yelling, "TASIA!"

"What?"

"It's Rob!"

Screech looked up, concerned. The guy may not like her, but he was her teammate. "What's wrong?"

Wally glanced warily at the owl and whispered in Ren's ear, "Something set it off."

Ren immediately left, practically bolting out of the room.

Screech, who had heard, asked, "What do you mean, 'set it off'? What is 'it'?"

Wally narrowed his eyes at her. "Were you just talking to him?"

"To Robin? Yeah, he came in here and started asking questions. Why?" '_Did I do something wrong again?'_

"What did you talk about?"

"He asked me why I joined the team and why I'm friends with Fantasia," she answered, keeping out the extra comments...

"What do you know about him?"

"Not much. He's Batman's protégé, really close to you and Fantasia, and something happened to his parents. I didn't go snooping, I just saw the signs."

"Did you mention anything about his parents?"

Screech opened her mouth to say no when she remembered. "_Neither of us have biological parents anymore. And neither do you."_

Her eyes widened. "Oh my God..."

"You weren't thinking, were you?" The speedster asked, shaking his head.

"N-no," the owl girl whispered, shocked with herself. "Oh gosh... I-I was trying to convince him that I'm not a spy and I guess it just... Slipped."

"I get it... I've done it myself. Rob's pretty forgiving... Tas, well... She is pretty protective of him. She held a two week grudge on me the first time I did it."

Screech groaned. "Now I've done it. This is why I don't talk to people." '_Something always goes wrong, and if she already didn't like me in the first place...'_

"Good luck Screech," Wally said, breaking her out of her reverie as he left.

"Yeah... Good luck," she whispered to herself, standing in the middle of the room. With that the owl girl fished her iPod out of her satchel, replaced it with her coat, put her music in, and flew out of Mount Justice.

* * *

Fantasia walked out of Robin's bedroom at the Cave, he had finally fallen asleep. The boy had mentioned Screech, so Tas deducted that she was the one who set him off. The Creatonian had already informed Batman of the incident, and he told her that he trusted her to handle it. And handle it she would. She remembered Screech telling her about a place she liked to go near the Cave… What was it, again? The ledge.

* * *

Fantasia flew up to a ledge on the mountain, looking over the beach. She knew the owl was there, even if she couldn't see her. Anger boiled in her stomach.

"I trusted you."

Screech watched her from a few feet away, huddled into a ball within her camouflaged space. She had her music on full volume, but she didn't have to hear Fantasia to know what she was saying. She felt a pang in her chest. "I know you did. I'm sorry..." the owl girl whispered to herself, the dries tear tracks pulling on her skin slightly. But she couldn't work up the courage to press the button on her orb to reveal herself. Maybe if she left force field on, so Fantasia couldn't hurt her...

"Turn off the music."

Screech did as she was told, then with a leap of faith, turned off the camouflage. She kept the force field on, though.

Tasia used her powers to take the force field down, and pulled the other girl to her feet.

Screech squeaked in surprise, and met Fantasia's eyes for a split second before looking down again. "I-I'm sorry," she whispered miserably.

The Creatonian stared the other down with her arms crossed, "I told you a little about me, and you go and use it to figure out the other's identities!"

Screech looked up. "No! That's not it at all! I just-"

The Creatonian continued, "And used it to break one of my best friends."

Screech could see the level of protection the interdimensional girl had for the protégé of Batman. They had a history. They had a connection- just as Robin had said. "I swear, I don't know who Robin really is. I didn't snoop; I would never do that to you."

"Then how did you know about his parents?"

"All orphans have a certain look about them. Something in their eyes and their behavior. I've never been able to pin down what it is, but I can recognize it by now. I've seen too many of them to not be able to," She said almost despondently, remembering almost every orphan she had met on the street and the person she saw whenever she looked in a mirror.

"What about me?"

Taking a deep breath, the owl girl answered, "I have my assumptions. You've showed some signs, but I've been too scared to ask and make sure. I didn't want to get it wrong."

"They are dead. And I saw the deaths of Robin's parents, too. That's how we met. That's why I need to protect him."

Screech shook her head sadly. "I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to mention it. I just sort of... lost control." She whispered to herself, "I was just being a coward."

Tasia furrowed her eyebrows, "Lost control? Why?"

"Well..."

"Robin brought up not trusting you, didn't he?"

"Yes, but that's not really what set me off. He sort of started trying to figure out who I am, what my past is. I can't... When I was on the streets, part of the way I survived was by remaining completely anonymous. If someone asked me who I was and where I was from, I told them a quick lie and turned the question around, or changed the subject. I guess it's sort of stuck around."

"He does trust you… He just doesn't know you. But, I do. And that bothers him."

"I suppose I should probably tell him, then?" '_Not a very appealing prospect.'_

"If you want him to stop glaring at you, then yes. If you don't care, then do what you want. It all comes down to a promise I made him when we were kids."

"I'll tell him eventually. But... probably not anytime soon. I'm used to glares, I can take it." Screech fiddled with her hands. "What was the promise? If you don't mind me asking," she finished quickly.

"Robin's two best friends are Kid Flash and I. The only difference is the amount of history. The connection is equal, we're all close. But, for Rob and I it can be a bit different. We grew up together, went through everything together. He has lost so much. I promised him he would never lose me." Fantasia's eyes grew distant as memories filled her mind.

The owl smiled up at her friend. "I wish I could completely understand that connection for myself, but I do know that he's lucky to have a friend like you. I'll let him know that I'll never take you away from him."

"Don't."

"Why not- oh. Because it would let him know that you told me about the promise. Okay, I won't."

"Heh. No. He's protective now. I don't need him possessive later… Though it might be too late for that."

Screech smirked, thinking about how he would be when they started dating (everyone knew it would happen). "Yeah, makes sense. And I think it might be too late so good luck with that."

Fantasia looked at the iPod in the girl's hand, "Hey, where did you get that?"

Screech looked at her iPod, where Broken by Seether was paused. "I got it when I was back on Thanagar. Someone dropped it off on my doorstep when I turned nine, and I never figured out who gave it to me, who it previously belonged to or how it got to the planet. But I still use it whenever I get nervous, scared or upset."

"Can I see it for a moment? I'll give it right back. And I use my music for the same thing, except for all the time in all moods."

"Yeah, pretty much sums it up," Screech chuckled. "Sure, here." The girl timidly stretched out her arm so Fantasia could take the device.

The latter took the iPod and flipped through the music and then the photos. They brought a smile to her face, "Heh… No way."

Screech furrowed her brow. "'No way' what?"

"This was my old iPod, from when I was a kid."

The Thanagarian's eyes widened. "No way. Really? That was you in the pictures?"

"C'mere."

Screech cautiously stepped closer to the older girl. Fantasia began to flip through the photos, talking about the times she and Robin had taken the photos. Screech recognized the boy and man in the photos as Dick Grayson and Bruce Wayne… She connected Fantasia to Serenity Logan. They were always on the news for some charity event.

Tas noticed this, "Tell no one. Though I do suspect you will be getting a visit from Batman soon."

Screech winced slightly. "Great. That should be fun," she commented sarcastically. "And don't worry, I won't tell a soul- living or dead," she joked, referencing the first time the two had met.

Fantasia smiled, "We are friends, you know. Rob told me about the conversation you two had."

Screech was clearly relieved, though she knew she wouldn't be able to get the newest yell of "freak" out of her head for a little bit. "I can't be mad at him for what he said, anyways," she mentioned. "He was just trying to protect you and defend himself."

"You're not a freak, no more than any of us on the team. But, he is right about one thing."

"W-what would that be?"

"I am a fixer. And you are broken. It's what I do… It's what I have always done. But, that's what friends do. They fix each other." Fantasia looked at the girl in front of her, and saw she looked a little unconvinced.

"Ever since I was a kid, I was always okay. I let things roll of my back. I can get my feelings out and not feel broken. Some can't. I take that burden from then, when I can. I couldn't protect my parents… But, I can protect Robin, my brother, and my team."

Screech gave a weak smile. "I look forward to knowing what that's like, then. Thanks." She knew it would take some time to fully believe Fantasia with this, but... she was willing to give it a try. One last hope.

"Don't worry. I have trouble trusting people too sometimes. I have never been betrayed, and I would like to keep it that way."

"Trust me, it would be worth it to do so. And... if you need someone to talk to, I'm here too." She grinned. "I hear it's what friends do."

"I know." In the back of Fantasia's mind, she knew she could trust Screech, but she wouldn't talk to her. She could barely talk to Robin. Only herself. Her mind is her only safe spot where she will never be judged. She started to play with the gold book charm on her bracelet. It was her mind in a book and no one was ever going to see it.

Screech had been staring out over the water, but bent down to grab her atmosphere orb from where she left it on the ground and properly turn it off. Fantasia also handed back her iPod.

"Thanks," Screech told her, then tucked her thumb under her belt buckle so it could be scanned and her satchel would open. When it did, she placed both items into the pouch and reverted it back to belt form.

"You have pretty good observation skills, from what I have seen…" Fantasia smiled at the girl.

Screech rubbed the back of her neck with a small smile of her own. "Yeah, well I kind of grew up watching the other kids from the sidelines. Then my parents found a Sherlock Holmes book and I sorta picked up a few things."

"Have you seen the modern day T.V. show, now that you have been on Earth?"

"I've heard of it, but I haven't seen it. Shayera isn't big on T.V. I've only seen a few things."

"I have Netflix and the Cave has a T.V., Robin and I are hooked on that show. It's time for a marathon. Warning: It will ruin your life."

Screech grinned. "Let's do it, then."


	4. WARNING: Pineapple

**A/N: Hallie: Autumn almost dies in this.**

**Emu: Well when you put it that way, it just sounds dramatic.**

**Hallie: Maybe it is dramatic… :)**

**Emu: Possibly... We'll let you find out on your own. :)**

**Hallie: That… Was so cliche. I can't even. **

**Emu: *groans* please don't start with that "I can't even" thing.**

**Hallie: I just did. *grin***

**Emu: Clotpole.**

**Hallie: Horn-beast.**

**Emu: Prat. Anyway, we should probably stop before this turns into an insult war. We don't own Young Justice, DC, or BBC Merlin.**

**Hallie: Read on and enjoy the awkwardness of Conner and Autumn. **

**Emu: See ya!**

* * *

"I smell food," Wally West stated as his head shot up from his phone. The ginger had just gotten to the cave after school let out. He looked over at Screech Owl, who was watching T.V. next to him on the couch.

She sniffed the air, "Me too."

The duo followed the smell of something sweet baking to the kitchen, where they found M'gann finishing cleaning up a floury mess. The junior speedster walked up to the green girl, "Hey M'gann! What's cooking?"

The mentioned girl looked up from the dishes she was doing, "I'm trying to make pineapple upside down cake."

Wally leaned on the counter next to her with a flirty smile, "Well if it tastes as good as it smells, I'd say you did pretty well."

Screech stood off to the side pondering how a cake could be upside down. Though she had been considered an Earth nerd on Thanagar, the planet's customs still managed to confuse her. She was broken out of her trance by Conner and Kaldur walking into the kitchen, clearly just coming from training. The Atlantean was out of breath, and the Kryptonian had a small smirk on his face.

Kaldur caught his breath and asked, "What is being baked?"

Conner looked at the oven, "Yeah. It smells good."

M'gann looked over at him, "Thanks Conner!"

_Recognized, Robin. B02._

_Recognized, Fantasia. B01._

_Recognized, Artemis. B09._

People's timing was oddly impeccable today. The newly entered trio joined the rest of the team in the kitchen. Fantasia looked particularly irritated as she slumped on one of the stools by the breakfast bar, "I hate school so much right now."

Screech looked over at her friend with empathy, "I know the feeling."

The owl had been going to school with M'gann and Conner for a while now. School on Earth had been better than it had been on Thanagar, but it was still boring as heck.

Kaldur looked over at the Creatonian in concern, "What happened?"

She sent an annoyed glance his way, "It's school. Do I really _need_ a reason?"

This earned a nod from Wally, "Well put."

Robin glanced at the pink haired girl, "She's been in a bad mood all day."

Tasia scowled, "Can it, bird brain."

M'gann smiled at Fantasia, before turning after hearing the oven _ding_. This made Wally's eyes widen, "Food time!"

Conner watched as the cake got pulled out, "Great. I'm hungry."

The Martian looked over at the Kryptonian, "We should probably wait until it cools down."

Tasia snorted, "Good luck getting Flash Boy to wait that long."

This made the mentioned speedster turn towards her, "Heeyyy, Princess. Could you use your mind magic and cool this thing down?"

The Creatonian rolled her eyes, "Fine. Like you need any sugar." Fantasia still complied and imagined the cake was cooled.

Artemis' eyes widened, "Baywatch on sugar? Great."

M'gann began to cut the cake into equal pieces, "It looks ready to eat."

Wally bounced up and down on his toes in anticipation, "Yes. Food. Now."

The pink-haired girl gave him a look, "Share."

"Awe," the ginger replied with a pout.

The blonde archer snorted as she took the piece of pineapple upside down cake M'gann was handing her. The rest of the cake got handed out and the team dug in.

Robin looked at the Martian in surprise, "Geez. M'gann you are getting really good at this."

Wally threw his head back in delight and moaned, "It's so good!"

In response, Fantasia looked at him oddly and scooted away. Screech laughed and took a bite herself, "Wow, this is really good!"

M'gann blushed at all the compliments, "Thanks. I'm getting more comfortable with the materials. And Conner's been reminding me not to take on too much at once."

The aforementioned boy gave her a small smile while he took a bite.

Fantasia grinned at the green girl, "I usually don't like cake, but this is awesome!"

The owl tilted her head to the side, "Did you cook on Mars much?"

"Sometimes… It was something that I became more interested in on Earth."

"Is it much different here? Cooking, I mean?" Aqualad inquired.

"Well, I have more ingredients here."

Tasia's attention had fallen from the conversation and on to her winged friend. She noticed Screech's face becoming more crimson, "Screech, you alright there? You're looking a little red."

The girl brought her hand up to her arm and gave it a small scratch, "I feel fine."

Artemis put her empty plate in the sink, "Cake was good, now it's gone. I'm bored and I really don't want to do homework right now."

"I think static is on T.V. right now, we could watch that," Conner nodded towards the T.V. set.

"Or not," the Kryptonian backtracked when he saw the unamused faces of his teammates.

Kaldur began to say something but promptly stopped when the blonde archer declared, "Nothing training related."

Fantasia kept her gaze on Screech this entire time, her concern for her friend growing, "Screech, I don't think you're okay! Your arms are turning red now too!"

The owl looked down at her arms to realize she had been scratching them all this time, "They're really itchy." Suddenly her breath got caught in her throat and she was thrown into a coughing fit.

She had the entire team's attention now. Conner stepped closer to her, "Are you getting sick?"

"I-I don't k-know-," Screech's voice got cut off as she found it very hard to breathe. "C-can't-" The Thanagarian started to fall.

"Woah!" Wally zoomed over and caught the young girl before she hit the ground.

M'gann looked around frantically at her teammates, "What's wrong with her?"

Fantasia turned to the Boy Wonder, "Rob?"

The boy was already on his computer, "Got it! Her symptoms match an allergic reaction to pineapple!"

Conner looked over at the coughing owl, "We need to get medical help, NOW!"

The Creatonian pressed her communicator, "Fantasia to any League Member. Do you read?"

With a crackle, Hawkwoman's voice filled her ear, "I hear you Fantasia. What's going on?"

"Screech Owl seems to be having a allergic reaction to pineapple. She is having a difficult time breathing and we need medical help ASAP."

After a momentary pause Hawkwoman responded, "I'll be right there. Try to keep her calm."

"Got it," Fantasia looked over at Wally. "We need to get her to the infirmary."

The junior speedster picked up Screech with ease and sped her to the medical bay. Conner and Robin followed close behind.

Fantasia turned her head at the sound of Hawkwoman and Batman entering the cave. Batman walked over, "I intercepted the call. Where is she?"

* * *

Soon after Screech had been treated, she fell asleep and was moved to her room in the cave. The majority of the team waited in her room, watching to see when she would awaken.

Screech felt herself slowly regaining consciousness. She began her habit of running a mental checklist, trying to figure out why she was asleep so early. M'gann could see the owl's eyes flickering under the closed lids. She also made a mental note of the _freak_ scar on one of her eyelids, "Hawkwoman, I think she's waking up!"

Hawkwoman, Batman, and Aqualad entered the crowded room. The younger Thanagarian's eyes opened and she blushed when she noticed all of her fellow heroes watching her. Her voice was hoarse when she spoke, "Umm… Hi?"

Fantasia locked her gaze with the owl's and gave her an unwavering stare, "Welcome to the afterlife."

Screech rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Funny." This action made her throat irritated and she winced, rubbing her neck, "This is really cliche, but what happened? I felt like I was suffocating, but why?"

Batman glanced at the owl girl, "You had an allergic reaction to pineapple."

Screech shifted under the Dark Knight's intense stare, "...oh."

M'gann's face became filled with guilt, "I'm really sorry about that!"

The owl put her hand out to tell the Martian to stop, "It's fine. It's not your fault. You didn't know."

Conner watched Screech in concern, "How are you feeling?"

'_This whole thing is weird.'_ Screech shrugged, "Okay, I suppose. Throat's a little sore, arms are a bit itchy. Nothing too bad. Thanks for asking." She shot the Kryptonian a smile.

"Thank you." The entire room looked at Wally in confusion as he stated his odd gratitude.

Artemis gives the junior speedster a look, "'Thank you', for what?"

"For having an allergic reaction," The ginger stated this like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Robin blinked, "...What?"

Wally gave an exasperated sigh, "Now I have an excuse not to do my homework! Family emergency. Duh."

Fantasia facepalmed, while the blonde archer whacked the speedster upside the head, "Idiot!"

Screech sat in shock at the label of _family_ for a moment, before laughing, "Anything to help, Wally."

The speedster gave the owl a grin, "You're the best, kiddo!"

The Boy Wonder gave Wally a long look, "You never cease to amaze me with your idiocy."

"Hey!"

Fantasia stepped between the two boys, "Calm down. Don't worry, you're both idiots."

There was silence for a few moments, before the trouble-making duo let out a synchronized, "HEY!"

Screech gave a small laugh, before she looked at her mentor, "Now… Um, can I get up? Or am I figuratively handcuffed to this bed?"

Hawkwoman stepped closer to the bed, "You are to stay in bed for the next fifteen hours. Only getting up to use the restroom. Sleep as much as you can. Red Tornado will be down shortly to watch over you."

Batman cleared his throat, "Actually, Red Tornado was just called away."

"Well, neither of us can stay with her, and the team has training soon. So-"

"I'll stay with her."

The room went silent and all eyes rested on Conner. Screech began to lightly protest, "You don't have to do that. It's not like I'll try to leave or anything."

Hawkwoman looked back over at her protege, "It's not just that we're worried about. There is always a chance of complications."

The Kryptonian gave a shrug, "It's no big deal."

Screech scrunched up her nose for a moment, "Oookay… If you're sure."

The clone gave a sharp nod, "I'm sure."

M'gann eyed the duo oddly.

Fantasia walked over and ruffled her friend's hair, "Well, I need to go kick Bird Boy's butt in training. Feel better, Screechy."

Robin gave his female best friend a playful glare, while giving a distracted wave to the owl, "Bring it on!"

The ginger gave the bed-ridden girl one last grin, "Thanks again, Owlet!"

Artemis waved goodbye, "See ya, Screech." She then turned to Wally, "And you are annoying. Why would you thank someone for getting sick?"

"No homework, stupid!"

The arguing duo left the room, following Fantasia and Robin. Kaldur and M'gann were the only two left from the team.

Hawkwoman gave the owl a small smile, "Goodbye, Screech Owl." She then proceeded to leave with Batman.

Screech laughed and waved goodbye, and then saw the Atlantean and Martian still in the room, "Don't you two have to join the team?"

Kaldur gave a nod, "Yes. Black Canary will be waiting. Try to get some rest."

He turned to leave, but stopped when he saw M'gann was not following. "M'gann? Are you coming?"

The green girl snapped out of her daze, "Oh… Yes! Feel better. Bye Conner." She gave her boyfriend a kiss on the cheek.

"I will try, Kaldur. Thanks. And bye M'gann. See you later." Screech waved to the retreating duo.

Conner did the same, "Bye."

An awkward silence filled the room. The Thanagarian shifted in her seat. "Sooo…"

"What?"

"I don't know. Awkward silence."

The Kryptonian went quiet for a few more moments and sat in a chair near the bed, "Is there anything else that you're allergic to, that we should be aware of?"

"Probably, but I wouldn't be able to tell you. I didn't even know about the pineapple."

"Ah…"

Screech puffed out her cheeks and slowly blew out the air, "Yep. Bit of a problem there."

Conner looked at the owl, "Do you watch Static?"

"I haven't seen a lot of T.V. shows. What is Static about?"

"Umm… It's gray and black and makes this fuzzy buzzing noise."

Screech blinked and thought for a moment, before realizing what he was talking about, "Oh, static! Conner, when that is on the T.V. it means it isn't connected all the way. Like if the comm links are down and all you can hear is buzzing."

The Kryptonian looked down, "...Oh."

The owl tried to change the subject, "Well, I've heard of this show called Merlin. And Fantasia hooked me up with a Netflix account… Wanna check it out?"

Conner gives a shrug, "Sure… Wait, aren't you suppose to be sleeping?"

"What time is it?"

"About 5 o'clock."

"Then there is no way I am getting to sleep anytime soon. Being an insomniac and part nocturnal animal don't mix when trying to nap in the middle of the afternoon."

"I'm sure Batman can hook you up with some gas that will knock you right out."

Screech shuddered, "And I suppose you could punch me in the face to the same effect, but it's just as appealing."

The Kryptonian raised an eyebrow. "Do you want me to?"

The owl girl sat up and waved her hands, "No, no. Please, no. I wouldn't like that either. That was my point."

The boy smiled, "It was a joke. I can joke ya know…"

Screech sank back in relief and chuckled, "You always seems so straight-forward and literal, I never really considered that. I guess now I know what it's like for other people when I joke around."

"Heh. Yeah… I guess so."

An awkward pause filled the room, before the Thanagarian spoke up again, "Sooo… Merlin?"

* * *

Fin


	5. An Owl's Recollection

**A/N: Hallie and Emu: This takes place right after Superboy and M'gann return to the bioship in Bereft. They are standing outside the ship. Sphere stays at the bioship (AKA isn't mentioned).**

**We do not own YJ or the DC universe (or iPods). **

**We do own our OC's Fantasia and Screech Owl (and Creatonia).**

**Feedback of any sorts is greatly appreciated!**

**Enjoy. :)**

* * *

Fantasia crossed her arms as she looked around at her teammates, "I feel violated."

Artemis stood next to Creatonian and nodded, "You're telling me."

A thought entered Tasia's mind and she turned her focus to Miss. Martian, "You never told me that Martians could enter the dreamscape."

The green girl shrugged, "Some can."

The pink-haired girl gave a nod, '_Her uncle could never enter the dreamscape… Why can she? I better keep that in mind.'_ Luckily, no one heard her thought, for the mind link had been disabled.

Superboy glanced around at his teammates, "Hey, has anyone seen Screech?"

Robin opened his holographic computer, "Her GPS locator is offline."

Miss. Martian closed her eyes, "She shouldn't be that far. I'll try to connect with her mental signal."

The Creatonian gained a confused look, "How did we _not_ notice that one of our teammates was missing?!"

Artemis counted on her fingers, "She's quiet, fairly new, we don't know her that well, and most importantly, we were too occupied forgetting the last six months!"

Tasia threw a glare her way, "Whatever."

Aqualad stepped forward, "What we need to be doing is looking for Screech Owl before we become too weak to do so."

Conner looked at the hacker, "I don't get it, why would she turn off her GPS tracker?"

Kid Flash's stomach growled and he let out a groan, "Well let's find her. Where did she keep the tracker anyways?"

The Martian opened one eye, "I think it was on her belt. And I am picking up faint mental waves from over there." She points in an eastward direction.

Robin closed down his computer, "Superboy, can you hear anything?"

"Maybe… wings. Either her or a bird."

Fantasia had just enough mental energy left to retrieve her wings from her Image Journal. She took to the sky to try and see the owl, while FK raced on from below, slower than usual. Miss. Martian established a mental link among the team.

Robin tried to get a GPS signal once more, but to no avail, '_Tasia, do you see anything?'_

'_A floating brown thing… It's probably her.'_

Miss. Martian looked concerned, '_I'm picking up levels of distress. I hope she's alright.'_

Aqualad looked over at the ginger speedster, who was slowing down, '_Kid, you do have enough energy for one last burst to catch up with her?'_

'_Just barely.' _He was able to push forward and run after the owl. When he was under her, he called out, "Screech! Wait up!"

The Thanagarian hovered over the speedster, "Who are you?"

He cocked his head, "Uh… Kid Flash. Wally West. Your teammate?"

Screech shook her head, "I think you've got the wrong person… I don't know a Wally West and I am not on a team."

Fantasia caught up to the two and looked out at the ginger, "Her memory gone?"

"Yup."

The owl flew backwards a bit and looked warily at the other two, "What's going on? What are you talking about?"

Panic started to ease into her chest, were they here to capture her? What did they want?

Tasia flew closer to the other female, "Screech, you had your memories erased. My name is Fantasia, protege of the deceased hero Image. That is Kid Flash, partner of the Flash."

The Thanagarian recalled meeting the Flash once or twice, and she thought the name "Image" sounded familiar. Maybe Shayera had mentioned him?

Kid Flash called up, "We were all on a mission and had the last six months of our memories repressed. You're the only one who still doesn't remember."

Screech raised one eyebrow, "Okay, and let's say I believe that. How'd you get your memories back?"

The rest of the Team caught up with the trio, catching that last bit of the conversation. Robin spoke up, "Miss. Martian will enter your mind and restore them."

The Thanagarian looked down at the new voice and back away at the sight of the new people standing below her, "How am I to trust that is all she will do when I still have no recollection of you?"

Fantasia crossed her arms and sighed, "Six months of your memory is gone. Not all of it. You still remember training with Hawkwoman and becoming Screech Owl. Meaning that you know of the Justice League and their younger partners. We are those younger partners."

The owl shrugged, "I just woke up in a desert, who knows how far from home, and was confronted by a bunch of teenage heroes I have never met, and only some of whom I've heard of, telling me that I am their teammate, when I've never been on a team. Forgive me if I am a little cautious."

Superboy looked up at her, "You can trust us. You do know of the League, right?"

"Yeah. I've heard of them. But, I have never heard of a spin-off team of their younger proteges."

The Creatonian flew dangerously close to the owl, "Do I need to prove it to you?"

The owl leaned back and nodded, "That'd be nice."

Fantasia knew she didn't want to give something really private in Screech's background away, "I'm your best friend. What if I told you something that only I know?"

The Thanagarian cocked an eyebrow- she allowed herself to have a best friend?- but gave a slight nod, "That'll suffice."

The pink-haired girl backed up a bit, still in the air, "You have an iPod that you received anonymously for your birthday one year. It is one of your most prized possessions. And it also contains many photos of a young boy and girl. You thought they looked happy, so you never deleted them. As of now, you don't know who they are."

Screech blinked, shocked at the amount of detail this girl knew about her life, "Noo, that wasn't bizarre at all." She flew to the ground and looked around at the team. A green girl stepped forward and stood in front of the owl.

"I'm Miss. Martian. Will you let me help you with your memories?"

"How is this going to work?"

"Well… I will use my mental powers to bring you into my dreamscape. There I will form a mental link and share my memories with you. This will allow you to recall ones of your own that I do not know."

Screech swallowed, "Let's do this."

Miss. Martian walked closer to the owl, who shot her a cheeky grin before flying off, scattering sand everywhere. The green girl stumbled back, "Ack! I got sand in my eyes!"

Kid Flash yelled, "She's escaping!"

Aqualad helped up the Martian, "Superboy!"

"On it." The Kryptonian jumped into the air and grabbed the Thanagarian before she got too far. He held her so her back was to his chest, and he had her arms pinned to her sides. The owl tried to struggle, but Superboy was not to be budged. She ended up going limp to try and make it harder for the boy to carry her.

Superboy scowled, "Stop acting like a child."

Screech snorted, "I am a child."

The Creatonian flew down and stood in front of the owl, "You're scared."

The youngest stared back, "Maybe I am. Maybe I'm not." She looked away and proceeded to try and kick the Kryptonian in the shin. Superboy shot Miss. Martian a look that said: You might wanna hurry this up.

Fantasia continued, "You're defensive. Meaning, you're scared. Superboy isn't going to hurt you, he's just trying to make you stay in one place. We want to help."

Screech stared hard at the pink-haired girl, but ended up deflating a bit and gave a small nod, "Do what you want, then."

The Thanagarian made Superboy loosen his grip a bit, so her wings wouldn't get crushed, after promising not to run. Miss. Martian took a step forward, closed her eyes, and concentrated. Herself, Screech Owl, and Fantasia entered her dreamscape. The Creatonian looked around the area, "What am I doing here?"

The green girl gave a nod to Screech, "You seem to put her at ease."

The aforementioned owl girl looked around, "Woah."

Tasia chucked, "Welcome to the dreamscape, kid."

Miss. Martian looked at Screech, "I am also going to probe through your memories, so you can remember."

When the Thanagarian opened her mouth, the green one reassured her that it would be the last six months only, and just what she needed. The younger girl gave a reluctant nod. Fantasia put a hand on the owl's shoulder, "You can trust her."

Screech closed her eyes, "Go ahead."

Miss. Martian dove into the owl's mind and began to resurrect her memories. When she was finished she gave a hopeful look to the girl, "How do you feel?"

"Good. It worked. I remember."

The green girl brought all three females out of her dreamscape. Screech opened her eyes to find the Team staring at her, which caused her to blush, "Sorry for being such a pain, guys."

Artemis cocked her head, "Were you like that when you first joined the Team?"

The Thanagarian shook her head. Fantasia smirked, "No. She was a little spy."

The archer laughed, "I heard about that."

Robin gave the owl a grin, "Spybird."

This caused her cheeks to flush even darker with embarrassment, "I was not spying. I was curious."

Aqualad stepped forward, "Whether she was spying or not, she helped out the Team. Though… It was a bit like spying." The Atlantean smirked.

Screech gave a sheepish smile, "Maybe a little bit."

The ginger speedster groaned, "I'm hungry. I'm tired. Can we just go home, _please_!"

The rest of the Team agreed and Miss. Martian called over the bioship. As everyone began to board, the owl spoke up, "Umm… Conner?"

The Kryptonian gave a grunt.

"You can put me down now."

Realizing he was still holding the small girl, a faint blush rose on his cheeks as he set her down, "There."

Screech ruffled her feathers out, "Thanks."

As the duo entered the bioship, Miss. Martian threw a glance their way, but didn't think much of the interaction. The Thanagarian remember something and dug into her pouch, pulling out a protein bar and handed it to Kid Flash.

He smiled, "Hey, thanks Owlet."

Fantasia stretched her arms over her head, "Glad that's over."

Robin walked up beside her and threw an arm around his female best friend's shoulders when her arms lowered, "Ditto. Welcome back Spybird." He gave Screech a smile.

The Thanagarian smiled back at the duo, "It's good to be back."


	6. Vanishing Act

**A/N: Hallie: A new chapter, and it didn't take three months. Also, I wanted to mention that the plot for this series will really start in the second Installment.**

**Emu: Yay for quick(ish) updates. :) And yeah, we're still working out some story plot lines (by we, I mean mainly me. Hallie's got hers down.)**

**Hallie: This is more Ren-centric, character development. We don't own anything DC related. I do own Creatonia, Josh, and Ren. **

**Emu: I own Autumn, the owl minority and... That's basically it. **

**Hallie: Feedback is always appreciated. So, Enjoy :) **

* * *

Focus. Breathe. Focus. Breathe.

_Push. _Nothing.

Martian Manhunter sighed, "You need to focus and control your powers, Fantasia. Now let's try that exercise again."

The Creatonian gritted her teeth, "I _am_ focusing."

"I know… Let us try once more."

Not too far away, Wonder Woman and Batman were watching the mental training session taking place in the Watchtower. The Amazonian glanced at the Dark Knight, "She's improved since I saw her last."

The man's gaze did not leave the young girl, "But, she still doesn't have full control."

"Image never had full control either," Wonder Woman reasoned.

Batman grunted, "He wasn't as powerful as she is. What Image was or wasn't doesn't matter now. He's gone."

The woman fell silent and turned back to watch the training session. She saw Manhunter sigh once more, "One more time Fantasia."

Black Canary zeta-ed up from the Cave and joined the duo, "What are they doing anyways?"

Batman nodded in acknowledgement to the blonde and explained, "Fantasia needs to be able to push Martian Manhunter out of her mind, or be able to physically enter her Dreamscape. The latter doesn't seem to be happening anytime soon, so we're having her focus on the former. If she can block Manhunter from her mind, it means that she is the sole controller of her mind. Once she succeeds with Manhunter, we will have her move onto Miss. Martian."

Canary blinked, "Oh, how is she doing?"

"Better," Wonder Woman replied.

The Dark Knight narrowed his eyes, "But, not the best."

The blonde rolled her eyes, "Give the girl a break, Bats. I'm sure she's doing the best she can."

Fantasia could feel herself pushing the Martian out of her mind. He felt it too, "You are nearly there."

'_Out. Out. Martian Manhunter, out.'_

She focused and blocked out all she could, but couldn't get that final push, "I can't. I can't."

The green man urged her further, "Try."

The Creatonian took a deep breath and cleared her mind of anything but the task at hand. She concentrated as hard as she could, using all of her Mental Energy.

'_Get out. Get out.'_

She slowly felt his mental presence in her mind begin to slip away, but then felt her own consciousness slip away also. The pink-haired girl began to fall to the ground, unconscious. The Flash, who was also observing the training session, sped over to catch the teen before she hit the ground.

Batman looked over to Martian Manhunter, who was coming out of his concentrated state, "What happened?"

Manhunter looked down, "She pushed too hard this time."

Black Canary shot Batman a not-very-triumphant 'I-told-you-so' look, and in return she received a pre-occupied glare. The Dark Knight sighed, "Get her to the infirmary."

The Scarlet Speedster did so without a second thought.

* * *

Wally flopped over the couch in the Cave with a groan, "What are we going to do today?"

Screech Owl didn't look up from her book, "Stuff."

The computer stated recognition of Black Canary as she entered, "Actually, training. Let's go."

The owl put down her book and stood up, "Or training. That works."

The ginger let out a laugh, "Shot down." He laughed a little longer at the playful glare he got in return.

Aqualad looked around at his Team, noticing the missing girl, "Will Fantasia not be joining us?"

Canary began to walk toward the training area, "She's already trained enough today."

Robin popped up beside the blonde with a confused expression, "Her mental training doesn't usually exclude her from the physical."

The older blonde turned to the Team, "Not usually, but she pushed herself a bit too hard today."

The Team began to ask questions simultaneously, each regarding the well-being of the Creatonian. Black Canary silenced them, "She's alright. She just needs to rest and regain her Mental Energy."

The teenage heroes were still concerned, but did not question the Leaguer. They followed her to begin that day's training session.

* * *

Martian Manhunter finished examining Fantasia's mental health state and exited her room in the Watchtower's medial bay. Batman and Wonder Woman were waiting outside. The Amazonian stepped forward, "How is she?"

"She is still unconscious and shall remain that way for a least 24 hours, four days at most. Fantasia seems to have used up nearly all of her Mental Energy."

The Dark Knight looked away from the Martian, who sighed, "I should not have pushed her so hard. If she had used up all of her Mental Energy, she could have ended up dead."

Wonder Woman glanced at Batman and asked Manhunter, "Is she allowed visitors?"

He nodded. The Amazonian took hold of the brooding man's arm and dragged him in with her. He looked over at the Creatonian girl, thinking about how similar she looked during the night of the accident. He sighed, "Why did she have to push herself so hard?"

"She's trying to meet expectations. Yours, her fathers, the Leagues."

"She should have known when to stop."

Wonder Woman opened her mouth to say something, but closed it with a sigh, realizing that it wouldn't do any good.

Fantasia herself, unaware of the Leaguers, was mentally in her Dreamscape. If you saw her in her mind, she would have appeared to be just sitting there, for she couldn't do much without her Mental Energy. Little did she know, she was being watched from inside her mind.

'_Hello, little dreamer.'_

* * *

The following day, the Team had been informed of the details of what had happened, and the Creatonian had been moved to the Cave's medical bay. The Team was in her room, paying the girl a visit.

Robin and Wally stood on either side of the head of her bed, Artemis and M'gann stood a little further down, and Conner and Screech were at the end. Conner cocked his head, "Can Creatonian's really die if they use up all of their Mental Energy?"

The Boy Wonder gave a slight nod, "Yeah. And she knows this. I swear, half the time she doesn't care about the outcomes, as long as she improves."

The Kryptonian looked down, "Oh."

Artemis crossed her arms. "Do you think she will be up sooner or later?"

"Black Canary told us four days at the most, but really, only time will tell," The Atlantean replied.

M'gann sighed, "We should probably get back to the sparring area. Training will be starting soon."

The archer nodded, "Yeah."

No one on the Team budged for a few moments, before Conner gave one last look to Fantasia and walked out the door. M'gann and Artemis soon followed. Aqualad was about to join them before he turned to the Thanagarian, who hadn't looked away from her best friend, "Screech? Are you coming?"

She didn't alter her gaze as she asked, "Must I?'

"I do not think Black Canary would be pleased if you skipped training. Remember the time you slept in and forgot about it?"

The owl watched the pink-haired girl for a few more moments, before turning around and leaving. The Atlantean gave a nod to the remaining boys and left.

Wally ruffled the sleeping girl's hair, "Get well soon, Princess." He walked around the bed to where Robin was standing and put a hand on his shoulder, nudging him to the door.

The hacker sighed as he rubbed a gloved hand over his face, "She's fine. She's always fine."

The final duo exited the room to join their teammates in training.

In the training room, the Team was distracted with from their sparring, performing with lackluster. It was clear that they weren't on their A-game, but Canary didn't have the heart to beat them up about it.

* * *

Two days passed and finally, violet eyes opened. Fantasia looked around the room she was located in, realizing that it was the medical bay.

'_Why am I here?'_

Memories of the failed training session flashed through her mind.

'_Oh.'_

She sat up, feeling fine and refreshed. Deciding that she didn't need to be held in the medical bay any longer, she used her newly restored Mental Energy to open a door portal to the living room of Wayne Manor.

Sitting in said living room was Bruce Wayne, who was startled by the sudden appearance of the portal. Out of which stepped his Goddaughter. He looked at the young teen, who had imagined herself back into her civvies, "Ren, you're awake."

"Yup."

The girl got rid of the door as the man sighed, "You shouldn't have pushed so far."

She huffed, "Maybe I didn't push hard enough."

"You're improving, but you won't gain control in one night. What are you trying to prove and to whom?"

'_That I am capable, and to you.' _Ren bit her lip, "I'm trying to do what my dad couldn't."

Flashes of Joshua before the accident raced through Bruce's mind. He shook them off, "You… You are _not_ your father."

The Creatonian's face remained neutral as she turned her tracker off, opened another door portal, and left.

* * *

Wonder Woman turned to Batman, "What did you do?"

It had been over seventeen hours since the Creatonian walked out on him. Without her tracker on, it was proving difficult to locate her. He glanced back at the Amazonian, "I told her the truth. It's not my fault is she can't handle it."

"What did you tell her?"

"That she isn't her father."

The dark haired woman stared at the man for a few moments, flabbergasted, before walking off. Batman caught a muttered, "Unbelievable."

Batman huffed, before turning his attention back to locating Fantasia.

* * *

The Team had not yet been informed of the girl's disappearance. Artemis had walked into the infirmary to check on her teammate, to find it empty. She raced back to the Team, "She's gone!"

Robin blinked at the blonde, "...What?'

"Tasia's gone! She's not in the infirmary!"

Conner shrugged, "Chill. Maybe she woke up and went home?"

Aqualad nodded, "It is possible. But, we should check."

The Team watched as Robin pulled out his cell to make a call, he soon hung up, "She's not home."

Screech shifted on her spot on the couch, "Should we go look for her?"

The Boy Wonder pulled up his holo-computer, "I'm not picking up her GPS. She must have turned it off."

The owl's feathers ruffled, "Is it possible that someone else did?"

"She just found out that all of her friends saw her in coma, after she pushed herself too far in mental training. No, this isn't anyone else's doing," Wally sighed.

The Thanagarian nodded, "Then she probably wants to be left alone."

The owl understood the sentiment. She had often run out on Shayera for a few hours when she had started training under her.

Robin slouched down on the couch with a groan, "Why does she think that running off and trying to deal with things by herself will fix them?"

M'gann replied, "I guess it's just in her personality."

The ginger speedster looked down at his best friend, "She's the comforter who refuses to be comforted. She deals with things herself and we have never questioned her about it. You know if we did, she would just lock us out."

The Team nodded in agreement.

* * *

Sixty feet in the air, sitting on a thick red branch, sat Ren. She was hiding out in the depths of Redwood National Park. She looked out upon the sea of wooded forest, it always helped her to calm down and rationalize.

Most people would freak at the height she was sitting at with no harness, but the girl didn't flinch. Being up high made her feel invincible. Which is why she went there. The trees, hundreds of years old and still standing, made her feel strong.

How dare he say she wasn't like her father!

Time and time again before that, he would tell her how similar they were.

What changed?

Ren realized she could just ask him, but she wouldn't. Once she returned to the Manor, she would act like it never even happened.

The redhead didn't _talk_ to people. Not about her problems. She didn't need to do that.

She could handle it herself. She had before.

'_You are stronger than them. That is why they come to you.'_

The Creatonian froze. Where did that thought come from? She never thought that before.

That… that wasn't true. Yes, she was strong, but so were they. Maybe even stronger that her. Ren shook her head to clear the thought and took a deep breath of fresh air, focusing on the singing of the birds.

* * *

Batman let out a sigh of frustration as he tried to hack into the girls tracker to turn it back on, but he had yet to find luck with it. Black Canary walked up behind the vigilante, "Anything on Fantasia?"

"She's still missing."

Canary crossed her arms, "You know Josh was known for doing the same thing."

"I know."

"She'll be fine. Isn't she always?"

* * *

The thirteen year old sighed, she was fine. Right?

A pressure built up in her chest and her eyes began to sting. She brought her hands up to grip her hair and let out a yell of frustration.

Why couldn't she control her powers? Why wasn't she focused enough?

Why, why wasn't she good enough to gain control?!

'_I can help you.'_

She quieted down and swallowed. No matter how much she wanted to run to Richard, Wally, or Autumn and pour her heart out, she couldn't. They couldn't see her like that.

Her thoughts were right. She could help herself.

Yes, everyone has their breaking point. But, it was her job to help her friends get through theirs. Not the other way around.

When she hit her breaking point, she promised herself, no one would be around to see it.

She was fine by herself. She didn't need their help.

Ren was fine.

Ren was always fine.

* * *

The Creatonian teen felt like she had done enough thinking a mere seven hours later and opened a door portal back to her room at the Manor.

It was nearing 10 p.m., and she knew that her brother and Alfred would be home, but didn't feel like talking to them.

She was back.

She was fine.

Ren found that day's homework on her desk, and there wasn't much. Richard must have brought it home for her. She also found a Nutella and strawberry sandwich.

The girl smiled, he always knew how to make her smile.

She quickly ate and got her homework done, her goal being to get to bed before her Uncle Bruce got back.

Successfully, she was asleep by 11:23. Around 2 a.m., the billionaire returned from the Watchtower and glanced in her room to see if she was back.

He was both surprised and not to see that she was.

She was a good girl, but had her walls up for no reason that he could think of. Josh, he had reasons. What were hers?

The man sighed as he closed his door. The problem was, his Goddaughter was very much like her father, despite what he had said.

But, those likenesses contained both the good and the bad.


	7. Resilience

**A/N: Hallie: Heeeeyyyy. We return after a hiatus with another chapter. This one is the beginning of a mini-story arc. **

**Emu: ...what she said. I don't have much more to add here... We own nothing but our characters.**

**Hallie: And Creatonia. Feedback is always appreciated and enjoy~ :)**

* * *

Autumn had been watching Ren for a few days, and she just knew something was up. She had to admit to herself that no one ever really knew what was up with Ren. The girl was a bit of an enigma.

After Ren returned from her disappearance a few days prior, she hadn't been acting like herself. The Creatonian was quieter, more serious, and would rarely smile. She was starting to show similar qualities to the man who raised her, and that wasn't normal. Autumn couldn't help but be worried.

She had never quite believed the "Ren's always fine" line everyone threw around- everyone has a breaking point or a pressure point, and Autumn couldn't see how Ren could be an exception. The pink-haired girl was known for her stubbornness to talk about what was bothering her to the people who knew her best. The owl was still new to the Team and how being a team member (and friend) worked. She didn't pick up on Ren's 'leave me alone' signals as well as the others. Or any remotely subtle signals, really.

In her failure to try and figure out what was bugging the Creatonian on her own, she decided she would have to ask. But being unaccustomed to civil confrontation meant that the only way she knew how was the only way she'd seen; being upfront, blunt, and persistent. The same way Ren had used with her.

However, she hadn't enjoyed that experience much until after all was said and done. Wanting to try a different approach, she attempted to think of one less direct.

The next few days consisted of brain racking, research, playing out mental scenarios, and even a few experiments that only wielded strange looks and bewildered head shakes. Despite her determination, it only took a few days before she admitted to the fact that she could only try what she knew. So with a resigned sigh, she got up to find her bull-headed friend.

* * *

Ever since Bruce had made the comment that Ren was not like her father, she had given him the cold shoulder. Yes, she would act polite and kind while Richard, her brother, or Alfred was around, but when it was just the two of them, the girl would act like he wasn't even there.

A simple comment like that shouldn't have affected her as much as it did, right? It wasn't intended to hurt her. Most children don't want to act like their parents, they wanted to rebel and be their own person.

Ren was a different story. All she wanted to do was live up to her father's name. She wanted to continue his legacy so that no one forgot him. She wanted to have someone say that she would have made him proud.

To do what her father did, she thought she would have to act like him. And according to her Uncle Bruce (up until a few nights before), she took after Joshua Logan in more ways than one. The young girl still didn't understand why he changed his mind all of a sudden.

What the Creatonian did not realize was the similarities between her and her father scared Bruce. He didn't want what happened to his best friend to happen to his goddaughter too.

Ren was currently curled up on the couch in the library browsing Tumblr on her phone. Autumn walked over and plopped down next to her. "Hey."

"Hey."

Business as usual, until the cave's resident owl, opened her mouth again and shattered the normalcy. Had any other team member been there, they would've winced at her next three words.

"Okay, what's wrong?"

Ren's eyes flickered up from her screen to look at her friend, "Nothing's wrong."

Autumn's eyes narrowed slightly and she steeled herself. "I think there is."

The pink-haired girl let out an annoyed sigh, "Yeah, well, you're mistaken."

"You're defensive, suggesting you find some validity in my statement."

"I find no validity in anything you say."

Autumn paused before answering, trying to figure out if that was defensive or truth. She was leaning-or rather, hoping- for defensive. "That may be, but I still think something's bothering you."

The Creatonian locked her phone and set it down, "And what makes you think that?"

"You're just..." The girl gestured helplessly. "Acting different. I'm your friend, I hopefully know you well enough to tell if something is amiss."

"If I say I'm fine, then I'm fine. You don't know what is going through my head. What do you want anyways?"

"Answers."

"I gave you some. That I'm fine. I am always fine." Ren huffed and slouched back against the couch.

It was around this time when a certain trolling-hacker make his way to the library. He saw the two girls talking and the annoyed look on the Creatonian's face. Dick knew that she had been in a mood the past few days, and so he had given her space. Autumn clearly didn't do the same. He began to make his way over to them, for whatever was happening could not end well.

"I don't think you are. I don't know specifics, but something is up." How could she get this through to Ren? She had overheard Ren talking about Image before, and asked Shayera who that was. She was told that Image was Ren's deceased father and that the Creatonian really looked up to his legacy. Maybe if she mentioned that... "Would your father want you to lock yourself away like this?"

Dick mentally groaned. He was too late- the shit had hit the fan.

Ren stiffened and sat up, turning to glare at the owl, "You, have no right to tell me what my father would or wouldn't want."

"I-"

Ren got up and stalked out of the room, effectively cutting her off. Dick watched her leave, knowing better than to follow. Instead, he turned his attention to the owl a few feet away. "What were you thinking?"

Autumn looked down, studying her now fidgeting hands. "I just... I wanted to help..." She was fully expecting a lecture from the boy she had already succeeded in upsetting just months before. She felt he would relish the opportunity and avoided all eye contact.

The ebony haired boy sat next to the owl, "I understand that. You didn't know that her father was a touchy subject, did you?"

The younger girl had looked up sharply at the lack of a scolding tone, then shook her head. "Not in this context. That sort of thinking has gotten me out of plenty of slumps." She grabbed a piece of paper on the table and started playing with it, looking away. "On that note, sorry about that little... comment a few months ago. I didn't mean to upset you."

Dick gave Autumn a smile, "It's water under the bridge, kid. Honestly, it's no big deal. Pinkie tends to blow certain things out of proportion."

Autumn swallowed a protest to the pet name- she _was _a kid, after all. Instead, she gave a weak chuckle and raised an eyebrow. "Pinkie?"

He smirked, "Just a nickname, that's all. In all seriousness, be prepared for the silent treatment on steroids."

"Shocker, shocker." The owl sighed. "I'm sort of used to it, I never have been a very popular kid."

The Boy Wonder almost decided to question the last statement, but decided against it. He didn't want to make the younger girl talk about something she might not be comfortable with in this moment. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket. Picking it up, he saw that his mentor was requesting him. Dick ruffled the girl's hair, "I've got to go. Good luck with Princess." With that, he got up and exited the room.

Autumn heard the silent, 'You'll need it,' and sighed.

This could be a long few days.

Or weeks.

* * *

_Recognized, Fantasia. B01._

The Creatonian entered the cave early the next morning, for there was nothing much else to do. Dick was training in the Batcave, Gar was sick, and Alfie wasn't exactly the most exciting person to hang out with. Looking around, she spotted Wally and Kaldur talking in the kitchen.

Autumn spotted Ren from the hallway and walked over with a tentative, "Hi."

Ren ignored her and walked into the kitchen, leaving the owl to sigh to herself. It was worth a shot.

The pink-haired girl clearly hadn't been in the best of moods and most of the team saw that. Yesterday showed, that the owl clearly did not. What was so hard about leaving someone alone? But, what she really didn't understand was what made Autumn bring up her father.

She subconsciously knew that it probably wasn't meant to irk her, but the stubborn pride that seemed to have control over her mind never allowed that thought to be acknowledged until later.

Many people would say that the thirteen-year-old was overreacting (which was true.) But, Ren didn't care.

Autumn watched as the Creatonian joined the speedster and Atlantean's conversation and sighed again.

This was _definitely_ going to be a long day.


	8. Seperate

**A/N: Hallie: And the plot continues.**

**Emu: As it is prone to do.**

**Hallie: We don't own Young Justice. I do own Ren, Josh, and Creatonia.**

**Emu: I just own Autumn, Gavina, and any atrocities made in the second section for Autumn in this chapter. (In other words, I'm not too proud of Autumn's second section and if you have suggestions for improvement, please let me know.)**

**Hallie: Feedback is always appreciated. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP-_

Autumn slammed down the button on the alarm clock that Katar had gotten her and curled back around her pillow, falling asleep again.

That was until Shayera walked in. Shaking her head, the older Thanagarian turned on the lights and went up to the bed of her surrogate daughter. Reaching out a hand, she shook her shoulder. "Autumn, you need to get up."

The owl groaned and rolled over. "Whhhyyyy?"

"It's your first day of school."

"Mm-hmm... your point?"

Shayera sighed. "Don't you want to be on time?"

"Not particularly."

"Well, you don't really have a choice in the matter." The hawk pulled back the blankets and lifted the owl out of bed and onto her feet, to the twelve-year-old's displeasure. Rolling her eyes at the girl as she crossed her arms, Shayera turned around and, as she left the room, said, "Get dressed, then come out for breakfast."

Autumn groaned as soon as the door closed and face planted on her bed.

"And no falling asleep!"

"Stop knowing me so well!"

* * *

After two minutes, Autumn emerged from her room wearing a large black and purple t-shirt, blue jeans, purple socks and her trench coat. Making her way to the kitchen table, she plopped down and picked up the bagel Shayera had ready for her, muttering a quick, "Thank you."

Katar looked up from his own breakfast. "Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning."

"Still not an early bird, I see," Shayera chuckled.

"Really? I hadn't noticed." She sighed. "I should be awake enough by the time I meet M'gann and Conner at the Cave."

Katar smirked. "Ready for your first day of eighth grade?"

"Not really."

"It won't be that bad."

"We'll see."

The two hawks exchanged looks before Shayera continued. "Just finish eating and clean yourself up a bit. You look like you beat your hair with a whisk."

"It's the latest fashion. Didn't you know?"

The three laughed a bit, then Autumn finished getting ready while the other two made sure she had everything she needed for her first day, including lunch. Giving the two a quick hug and a, "See you later!" she ran through the door and to the nearest zeta tube.

* * *

"Meet Megan Morse!"

_Recognized, Screech Owl. B08._

"Hey guys," Autumn said as she stepped out of the zeta tube.

M'gann grinned. "Hi!"

Conner waved. "Hey."

The martian turned to the younger girl, "Conner chose Kent as his last name, and I'm going as Megan Morse. What about you?"

"Autumn Pines."

"Ooh, that's a good one. I like it."

Autumn shrugged and blushed a bit. Before she could correct M'gann's obvious assumption that she had made it up because her real name was more alien, J'onn broke in. "Perhaps you should change your shirt before you go," he directed to the Kryptonian.

In response to Conner's look, M'gann tapped the logo and said, "You don't want to give away your identity!"

After a short hesitation, Conner took off his shirt and reversed it, oblivious to M'gann's blush.

The trio then went through the zeta tubes to Happy Harbor High/Middle School, where, after a brief confrontation with a few other students, they went off to their different classes.

Autumn sighed as she walked down the halls. She could only hope this would be better than school on Thanagar.

* * *

The warning bell rang, signaling that students had fifteen minutes before the Gotham Academy school day truly began. Ren Logan leaned against one of the pillars in the school, her arms crossed and wearing a grumpy expression that had been plastered on her face for the past few days.

Dick readjusted his backpack hanging from his left shoulder as he shot a concerned glance to the girl. He wanted to know what was going through her head so that he could help her out but knew better. She seemed to pick up on Bruce's brooding trait from time to time.

The only person she would act normal around when she was in one of her moods was her little brother. This was because she wanted to keep him in the dark about any bad things that happened to her. Her goal was to keep him as innocent as possible for as long as she could. The problem was, Garfield wasn't stupid.

He knew his sister was angry at something. The eleven-year-old had also inherited the skill that allowed his mother to read people easily. When Ren thought he wasn't looking, Gar would catch her angry glares at Bruce and he noticed the way she always had her arms crossed.

Something told him that Bruce wasn't the only one she was pissed at. He just had no clue who that other person was.

The younger boy was standing next to his big sister, trying to figure out a way to make her feel better. He looked up at her, "Hey, Rennie. Maybe later tonight we could have a movie night? You can pick."

To his relief, the Creatonian girl gave him a small smile as she ruffled his hair, "Sounds good Gar."

"Woah. You have the capability to smile?" Artemis faked shock as she joined the small group of friends she had made.

This in turn, caused Ren to roll her eyes in amusement. "I will hurt you."

The blonde smirked, knowing that this was an empty threat. She gave a wave to the other's in their group, Babs and Bette. When Artemis first started hanging out with this crowd, she soon caught on that they could get away with a lot more than the other guessed those were some of the perks of having ties to Bruce Wayne.

Ren stood straight up when she heard the bell ring. The redhead waved goodbye to her friends and with a sigh, she put on a fake smile as she and Dick began to walk to class.

It was odd, though, she and the acrobat had been attending school together since second grade and in all that time they had almost never had a class without the other in it. The Creatonian knew that is wasn't a pure coincidence, but chose not to question it.

She had been thinking a lot over the past few days and had finally begun to rationalize her thoughts. She was pretty sure why Bruce had said what he did, he didn't think she was working hard enough. The girl had associated the billionaire telling her she was like to father with being proud of her.

She would make him proud of her.

She would work harder.

She would be like her father.

Now that she thought she understood why he said that, she was a bit more at peace. She had decoded what he was trying to tell her. Ren grinned, she had no reason to be angry with her Uncle Bruce. He just wanted her to be the best she could be.

And she would be.

The Creatonian sat down at her desk, waiting for her earth science class to begin. Everything would be okay in the long run. She would prove herself to everyone that she was like her father. That she would bring good to the Creatonian legacy.

Her smiled faltered a bit when her mind wandered back to Autumn's comment about what Josh would want for her.

She could feel a pressure building in her chest once more. Who did she think she was? Talking to her like she knew her dad.

The Thanagarian Owl was still a kid. (As was she, but that was besides the point.)

Autumn didn't know anything.

* * *

Autumn sat in the back of fourth period pre-algebra, unable to focus on the lesson. As had happened all day, her thoughts were trained on the events of the previous day, running through her conversation with the Creatonian.

Ren had wanted to be left alone. Why didn't she see that before she hit the blow up point? She was good at figuring out what made people tick. Why not what put them on edge?

The girl bowed her head and quietly banged it repeatedly on her desk. _Stupid. Idiotic. Child. Blind. Moron. Gah.  
_  
Raising her head again, she propped it in her hand and played with her lip. _I, am a terrible friend. No wonder Gavina left, I must've done something to piss her off, too.  
_  
With a sigh, she picked up her pencil and made it look like she was working out the math problems. She had been reading under her desk in Honors L.A, but that could draw attention in math. So instead, she doodled absently, stealing glances at the clock and trying to ignore vastly ranging looks from her new classmates. In the back of her mind, she hoped that she wouldn't be attacked by any of them on the way out.

Just half an hour until lunch.

* * *

_Briiiiiiing!_

The bell for lunch rang and Autumn shoved everything into her backpack, mentally noting the homework pages before bolting out of the room. She had been doing that every class, avoiding any contact whatsoever. Old habits die hard.

After being scolded for running in the halls, she slowed down just enough for her movement to be called speed walking, and didn't stop until she reached an empty table in the cafeteria. Plopping down on the bench, she opened her backpack and rifled through all her school stuff until she found her lunch.

"Hey, Autumn!"

The owl's head jerked up, and she saw M'gann walking over with Conner trailing behind. The corners of her lips turned up, "Hey guys."

The two took their seats across from her. "How's your first day going?" M'gann asked.

Autumn shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Sort of dull, but not as bad-" she stopped herself from mentioning Thanagar and went another direction, "as it could be. How about you guys?"

"About the same," Conner answered.

The Thanagarian nodded and started eating. Her older teammates did the same, and this continued in silence until Conner heard something.

"That new girl is weird. She's so... quiet. I mean, have you heard her say a single word?" A girl at a crowded table nearby asked. Autumn recognized her from math and closed her eyes. _Here we go._

One of her friends answered, "You mean the girl with the trench coat? I haven't, actually."

By now, more people were joining in the conversation. "I bet she wears that coat to hide some sort of hunchback. Did anybody else see that?"

"Probably from bending over books all day. I heard she skipped, like, three grades at least."

"I believe it. She's so tiny, there's no way she's twelve."

"She was reading this gigantic book under her book in language arts. Like, it was huge. It looked like a small telephone book or something."

"What a weirdo."

Conner sat there fuming, not noticing that he was squeezing the life out of his sandwich. Then, he realized something.

If he could hear these girls...

Then there was no doubt the subject of their gossip could, too.

One look at the girl confirmed this thought. Her head was down towards the tabletop, her hands fisted, eyes clenched closed and expression tight.

That did it.

The clone got up and marched over to the other table.

"Here's an idea; stop talking about stuff you don't know! I can tell you that the 'new girl' is twelve, only skipped one grade, does not have a hunchback and is simply shy. Also, she has a name, and it's not 'New Girl'. You know how I know? Because I bothered to talk _to _her instead of behind her back!"

"Oh? And who are you? Her freak boyfriend or something?" One of the girls sneered.

Conner opened his mouth, but stopped when he felt a hand on his arm. He looked down and saw Autumn standing there, shaking her head. "It's fine, Conner. Let's just go finish lunch," she said quietly.

Reluctantly, the Kryptonian nodded. Sending one last glare at the group, he followed his teammate back to their table.

M'gann had watched the exchange with interest and a little suspicion, but chalked it up to teammate defending teammate. It was sweet of him.

They finished eating, with M'gann and Conner doing most of the talking.

_Briiiiiiing!_

Once again, Autumn swung on her backpack and bolted out of the room.

But before she left, Conner thought he may have heard a quiet, "Thank you."

* * *

_Plunk. Thrum. Plunk._

Ren mindlessly picked at her guitar strings, waiting for the teacher to get into the room. Mrs. Roland was known for being tardy to her own class. The thirteen-year-old was taking one of the more advanced songwriting classes.

Most Creatonians have a creative emotional outlet. This allowed them to not have to talk it out like others. Ren's main outlet was music and since she practice her guitar all the time since picking it up at age five, her skill was higher than most her age.

She looked up when one of the counselors came in and told the class to have free-write day, for the teacher had left early due to personal problems.

The Creatonian began to strum a G-chord, switching to an A-chord. She was trying to see what sounded best together for what she wanted to compose. She admittedly felt a little lonely, for this was one of her only classes that Dick didn't have with her.

He was currently in gymnastics, something that she wasn't as interested in as he was.

During lunch, her little brother pulled her to the side and asked her what was wrong. She replied saying that someone had said something that rubbed her the wrong way. She didn't go into detail that it was about their father. More specifically, the hero aspect.

She wasn't sure that he would understand. Yes, Gar had powers and had been training for the past few years, but he didn't know if he would want to join the Team when he was older or not. He thought it would be cool to use his abilities to help animals around the world by allowing humans to communicate with them through him.

Both were noble causes that she would support her brother in.

"Fallout, disaster. I'm going to be the end of the world." Ren sang.

Liking what she came up with, the girl jotted it down.

Her pride really would be the end of her world.

'_Maybe so, but it will help to build and fuel mine.'_

The Creatonian froze. Who the hell said that? She look around to see everyone else minding their own business.

Had she imagined it?

Maybe. If so, why?

Ren had been getting this odd feeling that something unwanted was in her mind. She didn't know how to describe the feeling or if it was anything to really worry about. But, it seemed to be always lingering there.

Most times she just brushed it off. This was one of those times.

"When buildings of faces collapse all around me, I am the only one to blame." She hummed out the melody to go with the lyrics and then wrote them down with the others.

She was pleased with how the song she was writing was turning out. The melody was minor, much darker than what she usually wrote.

"I am gonna rebuild from the rubble and fix the damage I've caused, even if it takes a crane."

She was going to title the song: Proven.

* * *

Two classes later, and school was finally over for the day. Dumping off unnecessary books in her locker, Autumn walked down to the football field to meet up with Conner and M'gann. She had agreed to watch the Martian's cheerleading practice.

When she got there, she navigated past the group of cheerleaders and sat next to Conner on the bleachers. Just in time, too.

"Okay, Megan. You're up."

Autumn watched with faint amusement as her friend went through her little cheer. "Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee. Hornets, hornets, can't be beat! Bzz-ting! Ow!"

The girls huddled up while M'gann stood in anticipation. When the group split, one of them walked up to M'gann while the others went to do something behind her.

For the first time, Autumn noticed a tub of water and furrowed her eyebrows. What were they doing with-?

Oh.

"And I'm really sorry about this..."

The girls dumped the water over M'gann. Conner, in a bit of a rage, got up to run at them, but M'gann and Autumn both called, "Conner, no!"

At least M'gann got to stay on her feet. The owl had grabbed the boy's arm and went tumbling down with him when he tripped. Both were unharmed, but still.

As it turned out, the whole thing was an initiation. M'gann was now a cheerleader.

The Martian talked a bit with the other cheerleaders about practices and such, then the three started to leave. Conner grabbed M'gann's books from the bleachers.

"You're carrying my books?"

"What, you want them to get wet?"

Autumn shrugged. It was a fair point, but she didn't voice that. Instead, she said, "So, congratulations on making the team!"

"Thank you! I was really nervous." The owl and clone decided to let M'gann talk all the way back to the mountain, where they all went off to their rooms to do any homework they had.

And in Autumn's case, figure out a way to apologize to Tasia and thank Conner.

* * *

It was 5:00 when Conner heard voices from the lounge. Having finished his homework already, he went to investigate.

All he found was a Thanagarian owl watching T.V on the couch.

She turned around and saw him. "Oh, hi Conner."

"Hey." After a brief moment of silence broken only by the continuing show, he asked, "What're you watching?"

"I don't know, it was just on."

"Oh."

Silence reigned yet again. Autumn opened her mouth a few times to speak, but kept snapping it shut.

_Dang it, Autumn. Just say it! Seriously!_

"Listen, I, um... just wanted to thank you for earlier. You know, that thing at lunch."

"They were being jerks, I just- oof!"

The owl had rushed forward and wrapped her arms around the clone. Conner just stood there, slightly stunned. But before he could figure out if he should hug her back or not, she pulled away, blushing furiously.

"S-sorry! I shouldn't have done that, that must've seemed really random, I really don't know where that came from..." She trailed off, still bright red. _I'm a childish idiot, what the heck... definitely let my emotions take control there. The last person around my age who did that sort of thing for me was Gavina..._

Conner mentally shook himself. "No, it's fine." He awkwardly reached out and ruffled the girl's hair like he had seen Fantasia do before. The owl batted his hand away and faintly smiled, and Conner smiled back.

Neither were aware that M'gann had seen part of the exchange. The Martian narrowed her eyes slightly. What was going on here?

She wasn't sure, but definitely intended to find out.

* * *

Alfred opened to Manor door, allowing Ren, Dick, and Gar to enter the household. The two boys went off to the kitchen, where the trio always completed their homework. The girl had another thing to do first, before she joined them.

The redhead glanced up at that man she saw as her grandfather, "Alfie, is Uncle Bruce home?"

The older man nodded, "Yes he is. If you would like to find him, try the office Miss. Ren."

She gave him a smile, "Thanks."

Ren turned to the right and went around a corner, coming to face two large glass doors. Behind them, she saw the billionaire typing away at his desktop. She gave three sharp raps on the glass.

Bruce snapped out of his concentrated daze and turned around to see his goddaughter looking over at him. He minimized what he was working and and motioned for her to come in. The Creatonian slowly opened the door a took a step in, letting it shut behind her.

Going over what she had figured out earlier in her head, she came to stand in front of her Uncle Bruce. "I want to apologize. I have been acting unkindly to you, when you were only trying to help."

Bruce's eyes widened. Help? What did she mean by that? The man chose not to dig in further, for it was unusual for the young girl to be the one to admit a wrong-doing. "It's fine, Ren."

His goddaughter had essentially been giving him attitude over the past few days. If he was a normal parent, she would have had some sort of punishment. But, Bruce Wayne wasn't a normal type of parent and Ren wasn't a normal type of teen.

Over the years he had figured out what worked and what didn't.

Bruce had concluded that she had somehow came up with an answer to why he had said what he did, and in turn forgave him, whether or not that reasoning was correct. He also knew that Ren and the Owl she had been hanging around had a fallout.

Though he wasn't positive of whom was at fault, he had his guesses. If the fight continued for much longer, he might just have to intervene.

Coming out of his thoughts, he smiled up at the Creatonian who was still standing in front of him, "Don't you have homework?"

She blinked, "Right, yeah." Before she left she leaned over and hugged the dark-haired man. "Thank you, Uncle Bruce."

Bruce, who was not used to the sudden contact, hugged her back anyways, "For what?"

"Just… thank you."

Not feeling like pressing, he responded, "Anytime, Princess."

Ren let go and exited the room, going to join Dick and Gar with homework. She had a smile on her face as she walked into the kitchen.

She was going to be the best with her powers.

They'll see.

They will all see.


	9. Wrapped Up

**A/N: Hallie: Okay. First off, to the guest review on the last chapter- Thank you so much for the kind words! We are so happy you are enjoying the story. It's reviews like that, that make us want to keep writing. :) Now, to answer your question…**

**Emu: Yes, Autumn is 12, so there is a rather large age gap. However, while we do plan on adding Superscreech later on, that won't be until late IBS (In Between Seasons) or even early Invasion. Partially because of the age gap and for the sake of keeping to the timeline, Supermartian will be a thing for a time. **

**I may have accidentally insinuated too much romance last chapter, but at this point in time, Autumn and Conner are just becoming friends. M'gann is getting the wrong idea due to the difference in aging processes between Martians and Humans; she doesn't get that it'd be weird.**

**Hallie: With that out of the way, we don't own Young Justice. I own Creatonia, Josh, and Ren. Emu owns Autumn. Feedback is always appreciated. And enjoy! :)**

* * *

September 9, 2011

_Four days of the cold shoulder, _Autumn thought, slipping off her coat and putting it on the doorknob to the training room. _Either I seriously messed up, or Tasia is just being really stubborn. Probably both. _

The owl unfurled her wings, stretching them out before taking off. There was this aerial trick she saw Katar doing the week before and she wanted to give it a go. She took a few warm up laps and loops before playing out the trick in her head- a complicated series of twists and dives.

Autumn started with the first part with little problem, so continued on to the dive- a specialty of hers. It was during one of the twisted flips that she felt a stab of pain in her wing and cried out.

Controlling her fall to the floor (and inwardly relieved that she had the foresight to fly low), she tried, unsuccessfully, to look over her shoulder at her left wing.

As she was doing this, the door flew open and Conner rushed in, causing the Thanagarian to jump and hide a wince as she jostled her wing. He saw her and walked over. "I heard something. What happened?"

"Nothing!" Autumn replied, and Conner raised an eyebrow. She tried to give him a convincing smile. "Really, I just tripped. False alarm. I'm fine."

The clone was still suspicious but knew he wasn't going to get anywhere with the girl. So, he shrugged, said, "Whatever," and left. He'd have to keep an eye on her.

Meanwhile, Autumn sighed in relief, thinking he had bought it. Not entirely sure what was wrong but suspecting a mild sprain, she went to go get ice and bandages to try and patch it up herself.

* * *

September 10, 2011

Autumn sighed. Time for team training.

The owl had managed to hide her sprain under her trench coat thus far, but it was sort of impossible to fly with her coat on, so she knew she'd have to take it off. So to keep up the charade, she'd also have to undo the sloppily-wrapped bandage.

Carefully, she did so and slipped her coat back on- everyone knew she kept it on until they actually started training. It'd be weird if she walked in without it.

She made her way to the training room in slight apprehension. She was not excited for this.

* * *

Hand-to-hand against Kaldur posed little problem. As long as she kept her back away from her opponent, which she was supposed to do in the first place, all she had to do was hide an occasional wince. He hadn't given her reason to fly much. A flutter every once and a while caused a decent spike of pain, but no one was paying attention.

No one except for Conner.

He narrowed his eyes. Something was wrong, there was no doubt. Normally, she used her flight advantage more.

There was an uneven amount of team members, and it was Screech's turn to go two rounds; once against Kaldur, and again against Conner. The problem seemed to arise whenever she flew, so maybe it was her wing.

He would have to test that theory.

Kaldur won the match against Autumn. He stuck out a hand to help her up, and she took it. "Nice job," she congratulated.

"You, too."

The rest of the team took their turn- Wally vs. Artemis and Fantasia vs. Robin- and then Conner and Screech were up.

They got into place and Canary said, "Begin!"

Conner immediately aimed a sweep kick at the owl's legs, which she dodged by jumping up and flapping her wings a few times.

_Ow, bad idea. Stick to the ground!_

The Kryptonian had other plans. He kept the owl up as much as possible, noting every miniscule wince until pain broke out over her entire face.

Conner didn't know what happened, but Screech thought she might've. She had worsened her grade 1 sprain to a grade 2.

Holding back a whimper, she landed and allowed herself to be knocked down by the next attack.

"Superboy wins!"

Conner, like Kaldur, reached down and helped her up. He gave her a look and she mentally groaned.

_He knew. _

Canary wrapped up the training and sent them off, but Conner pulled Screech into his room as soon as she picked up her coat.

"What-"

"Sprained my wing yesterday while flying," she answered instantly. No reason to hide when he knew something was wrong.

The clone sighed. "And I probably made it worse. Why didn't you tell anyone?"

Screech shrugged and looked down, "It wasn't that bad, I thought I could handle it." _And I'm still getting used to being able to ask for help, _she added to herself.

Conner sighed again and patted his bed. "Sit down, I'm going to get a first aid kit." And off he went.

When he came back with the kit, the owl raised an eyebrow at him. "You know first aid?"

"Basic. Part of the cloning."

"Oh."

She sat in silence as Conner rummaged through the kit, found the bandages, and wrapped her wing tightly. Then he held a bag of ice to it.

"Um, Conner? I can ice it myself."

"Unless you want to hyperextend your arm trying, I'm staying here."

Screech sighed, recognizing defeat. "Alrighty then."

The two sat there for a few minutes, thinking their thoughts.

Autun couldn't help but wonder why her teammate was so adamant about helping her. It was just a sprain, would probably heal in a little over a week, despite the training accident. She could figure out a reason to stay home if a mission cropped up. No, big deal. So why was he so insistent?

Meanwhile, Conner couldn't reason out why the owl would stay silent. It didn't make sense. If nobody knew, they could make it worse by mistake, and no one could help. A back wound is the hardest to reach, there was no way she could wrap it up well on her own.

Both decided not to voice these thoughts, and after about twenty minutes, Conner took off the half-melted bag of ice.

"That should be good for now, but we should ice it again tomorrow. If it gets worse, just come and ask."

Screech gave a distracted smile, slipping on her coat. "Will do, Doc. Oh, and do you mind not telling anyone about this? Please?"

Conner hesitated for a second, "You'll let Canary know?"

"I will."

The clone finally nodded.

"Thanks. For everything." And she left.

M'gann saw her leave his bedroom and gave her a look. Autumn didn't notice and just walked into her own room.

* * *

With training over, Ren found herself hung upside down on the couch and attempting to watch an episode of SVU. She felt the couch cushions shift when Wally flopped himself down next to her. "You keep that up Princess and you'll pass out."

"I am comfortable, so I'll take that chance."

The speedster smiled at the younger girl's resilience. She seemed to finally be getting over what Autumn had said to her earlier. Robin had told him about what he had seen and warned the ginger to not bother the Creatonian.

Both boys knew what a handfull their best friend could be. Yeah, she could be pretty ridiculous, but she came around. "Everything alright in that pink head of yours?"

Ren flipped over so she could face the boy full on, "It's getting… clearer."

And it was. The girl had been able to rationalize her thoughts more over the past 24 hours. The comment her owl friends made about her father didn't really do any harm to Ren and it was never meant to. Ren decided that it wasn't worth brooding over anymore and had finally started to move on with her life.

It didn't do her any good to stay mad to the Thanagarian. It just put her in a bad mood, which in turn didn't help any of her other friendships.

Autumn, hearing the T.V, emerged from her room to see what was going on. Taking in the scene, she hesitantly decided to take a seat on the far end of the couch. "What're you guys watching?"

The pink-haired girl turned her head to look at her teammate, "Only the best show in the universe. You wanna join us?"

_She's talking to me. _Autumn relaxed a bit and grinned; no way was she questioning this sudden change. Not when questions are what started the entire debacle. "Sure!"

Ren paused the show and spent the next five minutes explaining the premise and characters. The owl was listening but also tuning her out at the same time. Robin entered the area and saw the Creatonian chatting animately about the show he had seen _way_ too much of.

He leaned over the couch near Autumn's shoulder, "She's talking to you again."

The Thanagarian nodded.

"And she didn't mention anything about the fight."

Another nod.

"And she probably never will. Welcome to being friends with Pinkie. Words of advice: When the silent treatment ends, you have been forgiven." With that said, he hopped over the couch and took a seat between Ren and Wally.

Autumn shot a smile at the Boy Wonder. She was just relieved this was over.

It would take some trial and error, but one day the owl hoped to have the ways of dealing with the Creatonian's ridiculousness down.


	10. Scantily

**A/N: Hallie: Two chapters in one day. We're on a roll.**

**Emu: Wheat or rye?**

**Hallie: Baaaadddd joke.**

**Emu: Yeah, I know. *cheeky grin* Anyway, if you can't tell, this takes place during Failsafe and Disordered.**

**Hallie: We don't own Young Justice, Owl City, or Walk the Moon. I do own Creatonia and Ren. Emu owns Screech. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

October 16, 2011

_It's not real._

_It's not real._

_It's not real._

Fire. Loudness. Nothing.

Ren awoke with a start. She jolted up and looked around the room she was in, to find herself in the Cave. It was only a dream. Only a dream.

Glancing around she saw her other teammates waking up and looking very shaken. It turned out not to be a dream, but a simulation. Batman and Martian Manhunter began to explain what had occurred.

"Though consciously Miss. Martian knew it was not real, her subconscious mind could not make that distinction. She forgot it was only an exercise and her subconscious took control, making most of you forget too."

Batman looked over, "Most?"

"While I was in the simulation, the Team was linked mentally to communicate. Fantasia kept repeating the line 'It's not real' in her thoughts. I wasn't sure what she was doing until we were released. Due to Fantasia's intense mental training with me, she knew what the Martian subconscious felt like in her mind. Meaning, when Miss. Martians subconscious took control, Fantasia was mentally prepared and able to resist her overwhelming influence."

Ren let out a breath. She did it. She was able to stay in control against Miss. Martian. The girl glanced over at Batman, who gave her a nod. A signal telling her 'good job'. She had to hide a smile, for she knew it wasn't the right time to be in a pleasant mood.

'_And what if you had lost control. You have no clue what your powers are really capable of, do you? What if, you thinking it was real combined with the power to manifest your imagination made the simulation a reality. What if you were the cause of the end of everything.'_

The Creatonian froze. That voice again. Whatever it was, it had a point. What… What would have happened?

The girl's mood suddenly dropped and mimicked the rest of the Teams'. As soon as the Team was allowed to leave, they all gathered in the kitchen. Ren felt her heart lurch for her teammates. She felt guilty for not having to have fully experienced what they had in the simulation.

Autumn was standing next to Conner, leaning against the counter. She honestly didn't know _what _she was feeling, aside from wanting to get out, away from the mountain and the depressed air about it. But she had the thought that it probably wasn't what she should be feeling.

The best way to describe it was numb. Not even indifferent. It was like she had just been watching as a bystander, as though it wasn't her teammates who were dying around her...

Like one hadn't outright sacrificed his life for her.

She sort of wished people would stop doing that. First her parents, then her friend. At least this last one was just a simulation.

Ren's eyes traveled from Wally and Artemis to Autumn and Conner to Aqualad, then to M'gann who was curling in on herself, and finally landing on the Boy Wonder sitting next to her. She placed a hand on his shoulder, making him look at her.

Without words, she was trying to remind him that everything was okay. That she was still there. Thankfully, a small smile told her that he got her message.

Honestly, Ren was just a shaken up as the rest of the Team but in a different way. She was terrified. She still doesn't have complete control of her powers. All she wanted was to put in her much and drown out the world.

Now she just didn't need to gain control in honor of her father, but for the safety of others.

What if she ended up hurting someone? The Team? Bats? Robin? Her brother?

No.

She couldn't take that risk. Not now, not ever.

* * *

The Gotham night sky was cloudy once more. Ren sighed and shut her curtains. Looking at the clock she saw it read 11:46 PM. Uncle Bruce would still be out for a few more hours, Gar hopefully was asleep, and her homework was reluctantly completed.

She got her acoustic guitar out from its case and began to mess around with some chords. She found herself playing and singing along to _Bird With a Broken Wing_ by Owl City.

She stopped short when she saw her bedroom door open out of the corner of her eye. A head of ebony hair peeked around the door, silently asking to come in. Ren sat her guitar on the floor and nodded.

Dick walked in and sat next to Ren on her bed. The Creatonian turned to her best friend, "How are you holding up?"

He looked down, "I've been better. How about you? You seem to be like the rest of us, even though you knew it wasn't real."

The redhead swallowed. Should she tell him? Should she talk?

No. She didn't need to add worrying about her to Dick's emotional agenda. "Just because I knew it wasn't real, doesn't mean seeing my friends die didn't affect me."

And that wasn't a lie. It just wasn't the whole truth.

She nudged him with her shoulder, "C'mon. What's going inside of that head of yours?"

Dick sighed, knowing it wasn't any use to avoid the subject. Besides, talking about it with Ren usually helped quite a bit. He started to talk about how he felt that he failed as a leader. How he felt guilty for having to have done what he did. How he didn't want to be the leader as bad anymore.

His head hung low as he said, "I don't think I wanna be… the Batman anymore. I don't have his drive. I'm not him."

Ren's heart tugged and she wrapped an arm around his shoulders, "Of course not Richard. No one can be Batman like, well, Batman. You are your own person, your own hero and a brilliant one at that. You're you. Don't feel bad about that."

His blue eyes looked up at her, "Thanks, Princess. It's easier to admit knowing that I've at least got you on my side."

She smiled, "I'm always going to be on your side."

Dick gave her a smile in return and pulled the girl in for a hug. The Creatonian returned the embrace with a light blush dusting her cheeks. Letting go, the Boy Wonder flopped back on her bed, taking Ren down with him.

The lied next to one another, staring at the ceiling. He turned his head to looks at her, "You know what I want?"

"Nutella s'mores?"

"You know me too well."

* * *

October 23, 2011

The air swept under Autumn's wings, taking her higher into the atmosphere. She knew she probably should've waited until her session with Canary, but she couldn't take being in the Cave any longer. She had to get _out._

So she had mumbled a quick excuse about going for a flight and left.

It wasn't just the suffocating air of depression around the Team that made her leave, really. She needed to process what happened. Seven days after, and she was still sorting through it all. She hadn't even been there for the entire thing! Not like M'gann, Robin, Wally and Tasia. She could only imagine what they were feeling.

She still hadn't shaken off the numbness of it all. As happy as she would be to stay in that state, she knew the problems emotional numbness caused by unprocessed grief could cause. So that was her goal. Process all this and get it over with.

But what she really wanted to focus on was Superboy.

In the simulation, Robin had assigned Conner and Autumn as distraction and backup. It hadn't taken long for Autumn to join in the fight with Conner, and the two had held their own fairly well.

Until one of the beams had come straight for the owl from behind. She hadn't noticed it, but the clone had. He had come running at her yelling, "Look out!" She had looked behind her, saw the beam, and just before it hit her, Conner pushed her away.

And then he was gone.

Forget fight or flight, she _froze,_ and in her distraction, was hit by the next beam that came her way.

Why had he done that? Why had he sacrificed his life for her? He barely knew her! It was like what happened a month before, when he had insisted upon helping her with her sprained wing. Why had he bothered? They were teammates, school peers, and acquaintances.

Or... did he see them as friends? Was it possible? Or was he just noble, in his own way?

Autumn sighed. People were confusing.

After a few more minutes of flying around, she saw something leaving the cave and flying away.

Wait... Speak of the devil, was that Conner?

She flew faster to catch up, and indeed it was the Kryptonian clone.

"Conner? What are you doing out here?"

The boy looked over at her. "I could ask you the same thing."

"Oh, just going for a flight. Needed to get out. What's your story?"

"...Basically the same as yours."

"Mind if I tag along, then?"

Conner turned his attention back to the sky ahead. "Don't care."

"Okay then, you've got a hitchhiker." She continued to fly besides him.

* * *

Ren leaned against the chair staring at the woman directly in front of her. They had been holding an unintentional staring contest for the past three minutes. Finally, Dinah leaned towards the girl. "How are you doing?"

"Fine."

"Aren't you always." The blonde let a tiny bit of deadpan tone leak into her voice.

Ren nodded in confirmation, "I am, actually."

"You saw your friends die right in front of you. You can't tell me that didn't affect you at all."

It did. "It's wasn't real. I knew this."

"Serenity, you know you can talk to someone about this, right?"

"I don't need to talk about it."

Dinah sighed, "What about your powers?"

The Creatonian froze. "What about them?"

"Martian Manhunter told me about how much you were fighting against M'gann. Why were you so resilient? Didn't that use up a lot of your Mental Energy?"

Ren squared her shoulders, "It was part of my training to resist Martian mind influence. And yes, it did. But, I wasn't going to let her win."

Dinah mentally noted how the girl's tone had become very straight-forward and businesslike. Almost as if she was going into defense mode. She leaned back in her chair, knowing that pressing the Creatonian would get her nowhere.

She just wished that Ren would talk to someone. The Creatonian was able to get people to open up and talk so easily. The blonde would always wonder what she had against opening up herself.

Keeping in all those thoughts and emotions couldn't be doing her much good.

* * *

When Autumn and Conner had returned from their misadventure with the Forever People, Dinah had called Conner into her office for his session, leaving Autumn to wait her turn.

She had put in her earbuds as loud as she could stand to avoid accidentally eavesdropping on anything as she gazed into space, which is why she jumped half a foot when Canary tapped her shoulder. Turning off her music and stuffing it into her pocket, she followed the heroine and sat in the chair opposite her.

Thirty seconds ticked by in silence, the owl gazing down at her lap the entire time. Unable to take the silence, she looked up and gestured helplessly. "Well? What do you want me to talk about?"

"Let's start with how you're doing," Dinah said gently, leaning forwards.

"I'm fine." The girl's gaze returned to her lap.

Canary sighed. "Autumn, I know something's wrong. I've known you long enough. Won't you tell me?"

Slowly, the Thanagarian looked up. "Well, I'm okay _now._ I'm waiting for it to hit me. It did with my parents, and I don't care about these guys any less than my original family... So it's probably just some psychological numbness protection. Right? And I can deal with that. I have people to go to when that happens." She shot a faint smile at the heroine, then it dropped. "And it may sound weird, but it's not really my death, or my friends' deaths, that's bugging me right now."

"Then what is it?"

"Do... do you know all that happened, during the simulation?"

"Yes, J'onn told me." What was this about?

"So you know how Conner died."

Oh. "I do, but maybe you should explain." The owl looked hesitant. "Remember what I told you a few years ago? A burden shared is a burden lightened."

Autumn took a shuddering breath. "Okay. Well, what's bothering me is how... readily Conner pushed me away from that disintegration beam. How instinctual it was to give his life for someone he's only known for a few months. How I've pretty much killed three people because... because I couldn't fend for myself. If I had just paid attention and seen the shot coming for me, Conner wouldn't have had to do be hit in my place. Essentially, his death was my fault. And then I let myself get killed seconds later." The twelve year old slumped back into her chair, and she choked up a little. "I don't understand why people keep sacrificing themselves for me."

_Artemis stayed behind for the entire team. I could've helped her, why didn't I help? And Kaldur didn't think twice about sending J'onn through the zeta tubes. If it had ended there, I would've never seen those two again. Ever. The only ones who survived to the end were M'gann and J'onn. If that were actually real, they- we would all be gone. Dead. Forever. _She felt her eyes start to burn. Closing them and shaking her head hard, she thought, miserably, _Great, I'm breaking down. Why here? Why not tonight when I'm alone?_

However, when the first tear broke loose, the owl didn't stop the rest. Curling into herself on the chair, she let the tears flow down her face in rivers.

Dinah watched and her gaze softened. "Oh, Autumn," she whispered. She stood up and walked to the other chair, picking the young girl up and sitting down with her on her lap. "It's okay."

Not even caring that she was being treated like a little kid, Autumn wrapped her arms around the older woman's neck and sobbed into her shoulder as Dinah rubbed her wings soothingly.

They continued on like this, the only sound in the room being that of Autumn's crying and Canary's gentle whispers, until the owl slowly cried herself out. Pulling away from Dinah's shoulder, but not leaving the chair, the girl wiped her face and eyes with her sleeve. "Sorry."

The older heroine smiled gently at her. "Don't be. It's what I'm here for."

Autumn nodded and got off the woman's lap. Canary simply crouched down to the girl's height. "Remember, if you need to talk about anything, just come find me."

"I know." Autumn shot her a small smile and hugged her. "Thank you," she said before wiping her face again and exiting the room and going to her own.

She definitely did feel a little better after that. But she would never admit that she liked being mothered sometimes... and that it was probably a big part of what had helped.

* * *

Ren sat indian-style on her bed with WALK THE MOON blasting into her ears.

It had been a few hours since her session with Dinah. When she got back, it was Dick's turn to go in. The pink-haired girl didn't stray far from the soundproof room, so when the Boy Wonder exited looking the opposite of traught, she pulled him in for a tight hug.

He then went to start his daily training with Bats. With him gone and the rest of the team still shaken up, the girl retired to her Cave room.

Her mind was still buzzing with what could have happened if she hadn't been in control of her mind.

Would she have made it real?

Would it have replaced their current reality?

Would it have created a whole new reality?

'_I am as unsure as you are, little Dreamer. All I know is that you might have caused the end. You would have ruined the world. Caused pain to the world.'_

Ren shuddered as the whisper of the voice passed through her mind once more. It was right again. She might have.

The Creatonian was snapped out of her thoughts by a tap on her shoulder. She took out an earbud and look up to see Autumn standing in front of her. "Uh, hey. Sorry to bother you, but we're all going to watch a movie. Want to join?"

Ren nodded, wanting a semi-normal night with her friends. She paused her music and wrapped up her earbuds. When she looked up, she saw the owl still awkwardly standing there. The pink-haired girl walked over and ruffled her hair, "You okay?"

Autumn gave her a playful glare as she fixed her hair, then shot her a small smile. "I will be."

The taller girl nodded as she accepted her friend's response. As the Creatonian and Thanagarian exited the room, Ren finally got the feeling of normalcy for the first time all week.

Things were going to be fine.

Just like they always were.


	11. Animal Encounters

**A/N: Hallie: Soo… This one is a bit of a lighthearted filler chapter. But, I like it. And I don't feel like writing another one. **

**Emu: Plus, it does have more purpose than just being cute. So there's justification. **

**Hallie: *points a finger at the reader's nose* No judgy. Just read-y. We don't own Young Justice. I own Creatonia and Ren. Emu owns Autumn. Feedback is always appreciated. Enjoy! :)**

**Note: Beast Boy's recognition code is a "guest code" until he officially joins the Team.**

* * *

November 8, 2011

After the adults and kids switcharoo the previous day, the League wanted to keep an eye on the younger heroes. The Team was requested to spend the next few nights in the Cave.

Autumn had been spending the day (and part of the previous night) in her room, trying to comfort Zatanna, and the two were hitting it off pretty well. Consequently, though, neither of them were seen much that day.

Ren found herself entranced by a book, so she stayed curled up in a ball all day on the couch. The rest of the Team had come and gone from the area she was in. Wally dropped by to watch T.V., Kaldur went over mission files, M'gann offered her cookies, Artemis sharpened her arrows, and Robin used her as a footrest while he hacked into something or other.

After a while, even the Boy Wonder turned in for the night. But as the hours passed, the Creatonian stayed where she was. She was currently mentally watching Miles comfort Alex under the stars. People thought she was crazy and that he was an intimidating freak.

She fell in love with both of them.

When she was over half way done, she finally ripped her eyes from the pages. Looking around, Ren saw the cave seemed quiet and empty. She pulled out her phone to see the time: 1:54 AM.

* * *

Meanwhile, Autumn lay awake in her own room, staring at the ceiling. Despite the late hour she had stayed up to the previous night, she didn't expect to be falling asleep any time soon. As per usual.

The owl glanced next to her, where Zatanna was sleeping. The black-haired sorceress had dozed off at some point around ten o'clock, and Autumn didn't have the heart to wake her.

Or take the covers back. It's not like she was using them anyway.

The younger girl sighed, returning her gaze to the ceiling. Zatanna had been having a tough time in the aftermath of the child-adult switch-up, and the owl could completely understand. She was just glad she was able to help.

Resigning herself to another wakeful night, but not wanting to wake up her teammate by turning on a light to read by, the owl put in one earbud and started listening to her music.

* * *

Ren flipped page after page, not willing to trade putting down the book for sleep. No way could she now, she was in too deep. Her eyes widened at Alex's current action.

Her eyes scanned the page faster and faster, eager to get to the next page. The redhead was sitting with her legs thrown over the armrest and pillows supporting her back.

She was so into the book's world, she didn't even hear:

_Recognized, Beast Boy. A213._

Ren's concentration was broken when she felt a pressure on her belly. Looking down, she saw a small tan and brown cat with a dark green collar curled up on top of her. Her eyes widened with surprise and confusion.

Why was a cat in the Cave?

And why was it curled up on her?

Wait… Garfield.

The Creatonian girl closed the book and shifted her body to sit normally. She picked up the purring cat from under his two front legs. His brown eyes stared into her violet ones. Ren sighed, "What are you doing here?"

The cat squirmed out of her grasp and jumped to the seat next to her. Suddenly, the feline was replaced by a young boy dressed in green flannel, his head slightly dropped down, "You weren't at home."

"Uncle B told you that he was having me and Rob stay in the Cave with the rest of the Team for a few days, right?"

He nodded.

Ren put a hand on her little brother's shoulder, "Then what are you doing here? Is everything okay at the Manor?"

He nodded once more.

"Then…?"

She gave a slight, surprised jerk when the young boy wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. The pink-haired girl quickly reciprocated the action, wondering what was up with her brother.

Garfield was a hugger, as he always had been more affectionate than most. But, if nothing was wrong at home, why was he here?

She rubbed his back when he tightened the hug, "Gar-bear, what's wrong?"

The younger one let out a small groan at the use of his childhood nickname, his voice was muffled as he said, "I can and will just leave."

Ren smiled, "Nope. Not until you tell me why you randomly popped up here."

The eleven-year-old was silent for a few moment before he muttered, "Nightmare."

"Awe, buddy. What was it about?"

He rested his chin on her shoulder, "I don't remember the car crash… Why do I keep having nightmares about them, though?"

The Creatonian's heart sunk with guilt. She was the one who gave in and told him about the car crash- sparing the gruesome details. Like herself, he had an overactive imagination. She shouldn't have told him. She pulled back from the hug to look at him, "I'm sorry. It's my fault. I shouldn't have-"

"No." He shook his head. "It's fine. I asked."

She put her arm around Gar, pulling him so he was leaning against his side. "Don't worry, bud. You're okay. I'm okay. We're all okay."

The duo fell into a comfortable lapse of silence.

* * *

Autumn, still awake, had been listening in from the computer announcing a guest. Even she had figured out this wasn't something she should intrude on, but the moment seemed over.

And come on, it was 2:27 AM, she doubted she'd fall asleep any time soon, and she was extremely bored. Might as well figure out who this kid is.

So as to not wake up Zatanna, she slowly got out of bed, slipped on her coat out of habit, and padded over to the door, making sure to miss the squeaky areas (she had mentally mapped it out her first night). Silently, she walked down the hall and into the lounge, where she saw Tasia and a young, brunette boy on the couch.

It took her a few seconds to gather the courage to break the silence. "Hey, Tasia," the owl started. She inwardly winced at how hoarse her morning voice sounded and cleared her throat. Gesturing to the boy, she asked, "Who's this?"

Ren was snapped out of the moment and turned to look at her friend, "Oh… Hey kid. What are you doing up?"

Autumn raised an eyebrow but, as usual, didn't protest against the nickname. She shrugged. "Been up. Couldn't sleep. Same story as always."

Gar turned around to look at the owl, "You're the Thanagarian?"

"Yup. And am I allowed to ask who you are, or is that taboo?"

He turned to look at his sister, silently asking her what they should say. Ren ruffled his hair, "This dork is my little brother, Beast Boy."

The owl grinned, "Pleased to make your acquaintance, Beast Boy." She didn't question the alter-ego name. If he was Ren's little brother, then he must live with Batman, too. Even though it didn't really look like it, he probably had some sort of power similar to Ren's. She plopped down on the couch next to the pink-haired heroine.

Gar leaned over his sister to look at the owl, "Do you really have wings? Like, real ones?"

Autumn nodded.

"Can ya show me?'

"Um... Sure." The girl stood up and slipped off her coat. She turned around so that Gar could see her wings and unfurled them to full wingspan.

His eyes widened, "Woah." He stretched up and poked one of the feathers, "So, they're like, attached to you forever and everything?"

Autumn chuckled. "Always have been and, hopefully, always will be."

He smiled, "I can have wings, too!" Garfield then took it upon himself to morph into a sparrow and fly around the owl's head.

"Aaand that explains the name," she laughed. "That's really cool!"

He landed next to his sister once more and transformed back to human, "Thanks! We're really not sure how I got these certain powers, but we'll figure it out one day. Right sis?"

Ren smiled, "Right."

The Thanagarian grinned at the two, but it dropped a bit when she heard footsteps in the hall. She concentrated on the noise. _Whoever it is, they're heavy and are making no attempt to not wake anyone up... Conner. _Autumn turned around and was met with the approaching form of Superboy. She smiled and waved, slightly sheepish. "Did we wake you?"

The clone just grunted and sat down.

The changeling turned his attention to the new company, looking him over with a smirk, "You must be Baby Strongman."

Conner and Autumn both raised their eyebrows at the boy, then at his sister. "Baby Strongman?" They asked, incredulously.

Ren shrugged, "Just a nickname. Better get used to it."

Conner snorted a, "Whatever," and Autumn rolled her eyes in exasperated amusement.

Gar tugged at his older sister's sleeve, making her gaze turn to him. He looked down shyly before asking, "Can I spend the night here? With you? I don't really wanna go home after what happened."

The Creatonian gave him a soft smile, accompanied by a nod. When he was young and had a nightmare, her brother would always ask to come and sleep in her bed. With her parents not around to fulfill such duties, she was happy to oblige.

Ren stretched her arms up with a yawn when she Gar's eyes dropping, "Time to sleep then."

The Kryptonian left for his bedroom without another word. Autumn sighed and stood up. "Well, let's give this sleep thing another go. Goodnight, guys." She flashed a smile and went back to bed with her music in.

Gar morphed into a lizard and sat perched on his sister's shoulder. The young boy was almost too exhausted to walk on his own. The pink-haired girl was out light a light as soon as her head hit the pillow, her book left abandoned on the couch.

* * *

Ren woke up to screaming.

She shot into a sitting position and looked around, noticing that something was missing. Her brother. Being on alert from the scream, she worried for Gar.

She scrambled out of bed and went to the main section of the cave, to try and locate the source of the scream. The Creatonian glanced in the kitchen to find M'gann standing on a chair staring down in horror at a brown komodo dragon.

The scream had also woken Zatanna and Autumn- who had finally gotten to sleep at around five AM- and the two came running. The owl caught one sight of the scene, figured out who the lizard was, and started laughing. _He definitely shares the trolling aspect with his sister._

The sorceress next to her gave her a strange look while M'gann glared at her. "What's so funny?"

Ren walked over to the lizard on the floor with her hands on her hips, "Get back to normal. Now."

The komodo transformed back into Gar, who had a pout on his face, "Aw, you're no fun."

By this time, the rest of the Team had congregated around the Creatonians, a few looking at the young boy in obvious confusion. Robin grinned, walking over to ruffle his hair, "Hey kiddo. What are you doing here?'

Ren sighed, "He had a nightmare. Stayed over."

The acrobat nodded in understanding, "Everything alright now?"

Gar smiled up at his older brother figure and nodded. Artemis looked on in confusion, though the kid looked _really_ familiar, "And this is?"

The pink-haired girl looked over, noticing the rest of the Team, "Oh… Yeah. This is my younger brother, Beast Boy. BB, this is Artemis, Zatanna, and M'gann. You know the rest."

_Recognized, Batman. 02._

The Dark Knight stepped into the cave, looking around for the Team. He spotted them gathered and silently walked up behind his three charges. He took a mental note of the small boy in front of him, who had disappeared the night before.

M'gann, who had calmed down after the shock of seeing Gar as a lizard, had begun to coo over the boy, finding him adorable. Conner noticed the Leaguer standing behind him and gave a look to the three BatBrats that said "turn around".

Gar (who was slightly blushing from embarrassment due to M'gann's attention) looked up at the Caped Crusader. The young boy gave a sheepish smile, for he had been told time and time again not to enter League territory without concealing his identity.

He doubted even his sister could save him from this one.


	12. Shadowed Eyes

**A/N: Hallie: To the guest reviewer- thank you for the kind words. They mean lots. We wanted to cover those episodes, but doing the 'by episode' chapters take much more time. And that is something we are a little short on. So, when we get more, we may go back and do that chapter and put it before Animal Encounters.**

**Emu: There's not much more to add except for my thanks for the review. So, thank you, Guest Reviewer. :)**

**Hallie: We don't own Young Justice or the Court of Owls. I own Fantasia and Creatonia. Emu owns Autumn. Feedback is always appreciated. Enjoy! :)**

* * *

_"Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send The Talon for your head."_

* * *

November 17, 2011. 1:32 AM.

"Screech, you cannot just go off and-"

"I had to figure out who it was! Someone was on the roof in the middle of the night and, for all I knew, could've been a threat to the mission! What was I supposed to do, Kaldur?"

"You should given us your location!"

"I tried, but in case you forgot, I was busy fighting for my life!"

"A position you wouldn't have been in if you had called for backup before investigating, as ordered!"

"The Team was scattered on their own assignments, it could've taken too long for someone to get there! If I hadn't intervened, we would've had another murder-"

"If you hadn't disobeyed my orders yet again, you would not have tipped off our target and jeopardized the entire mission! We could have found him fleeing the scene and followed."

"There's no guarantee that-"

Kaldur cut her off. "Not only that, but you kept a vital piece of information about your powers from the Team!"

"So that you wouldn't expect-"

"Whatever that sound does, it seems similar to the Canary Cry, which would've been very useful on other missions. So." The Atlantean's voice was chilled, "Why were we not informed?"

The twelve-year-old was quite frustrated as she threw her arms in the air. "Because I have no control over it!" The girl aimed a heated glare at her leader, even as her voice reached as icy a tone as Kaldur's. "And if you had let me explain, you would know that already." With that, she stalked out of the room and flew to a ledge outside the Cave.

Autumn didn't care what else he wanted to cover. The owl was still exhausted from her screech, her neck- though bandaged- still stung from the knife cut, her wrists and chest were sore, she was still shaking and slightly dazed from the night's' events; the girl was overall _done_. She had better things to ponder over.

That rhyme, for instance.

* * *

November 16, 2011. 8:46 PM

Wally groaned, "Bats told us to be here for a briefing ten minutes ago. Why is it when I'm late, I get a glare and when _he's_ late no one says anything?"

Artemis looked over at the ginger, "Because we're not idiots."

He sent her a glare in return.

"He probably gave us an earlier time so you wouldn't be late for once," Screech added.

Wally made a face at her, and she shot one right back. Standing next to the owl was Conner, watching the scene unfold.

_Pitter patter._

_Giggle._

_Leap._

_Cling._

Conner froze. For now, clinging on his back like a koala, was Fantasia with a manic grin on her face.

Screech started snickering, and Conner glanced at her. "What is on my back?"

"Tasia."

He turned his head to try and look at the girl, "Why?"

She just giggled. Robin, Wally, and Aqualad shared a knowing look. The Boy Wonder smirked, "Because she wants to."

Conner got over the shock and attempted to shake off the young girl, which just made her laugh and cling onto him tighter. He sighed.

Wally let out a short, "Just roll with it, dude. She's been doing it to the three of us for years."

Kaldur smiled slightly. "Sorry, Superboy. You won't get her off until she wants to."

_Recognized, Batman. 02._

Conner turned around and sighed again upon seeing the Dark Knight. Of course.

Batman looked on at the scene before him and chose not to address it. He had to hide a small smile when his goddaughter grinned at him and said, "Hey Batdude~"

Clearing his throat, the Dark Knight pulled up images on the computer of murder victims around Gotham, killed by violet (yet skilled) knifery. Batman knew that this was the work of a Talon, the assassin for the Court of Owls. They had been a looming threat and legend in Gotham for centuries. He had received his fair share of encounters with the killer.

The Dark Knight was trying to locate one of the Court's many hideouts, but they had begun to watch out for him. The Team, however, was below their radar.

"Throughout Gotham, there have been multiple mysterious murders all under the same M.O. Tonight, I need you to split up and find as much information on who or what did this. If you come across them, do _not_ engage. Call for backup and follow them. The best way to take them down is to find where they reside."

Batman left out that he knew who they were dealing with, for he didn't want the Team to take the mission into their own hands. He would inform them of the Court later on.

* * *

9:32 PM

The Team stood in an empty alley in Gotham near the zeta tube they had just stepped out of. Aqualad stood in front of his teammates, "Alright, Miss. Martian is going to mentally link us. Comms are for emergency only. You are already split up in pairs. Remember, if you find the killer, do not engage. Call for backup and follow in stealth mode, which you should already be in."

Artemis and Fantasia went off, taking the north side of the city. Miss. Martian and Robin took the west and Superboy and Kid Flash took east. That left Aqualad and Screech Owl to investigate the south.

Screech, having lived on the streets of Gotham for a time, knew some out-of-the-way places for the team to check. Still, nothing had been found until about an hour into the investigation. To cover more ground, each pair had split up within their quadrant, and the Thanagarian had gone to an alley where some homeless groups slept. She had just finished asking them a few questions and was leaving when she heard something from the nearby roof.

Stopping on a dime, she closed her eyes and concentrated.

_Breathing._ Someone was on the roof. Probably nothing, but... she was going to check it out anyway.

Just in case it was the murderer, the owl took out her orb. She pressed the button to turn her invisible before stashing it in her belt, grabbing her staff, and flying up. She landed silently on the edge and looked around.

The sight of a black-clad, hooded figure looming over an unconscious person met her eyes.

A black-clad, hooded figure with a knife poised to kill.

And his concealed face, with its glowing yellow goggles, was pointed in her direction.

Screech froze and contacted the Team. _Guys, I may have found our murderer. I'm on the roof of the building at the corner of-_ The figure suddenly lunged at her and she just barely dodged his knife. _He's got infared goggles!_

She blocked the knife with her staff and kicked the weapon out of his hand. But this didn't deter him one bit, and she quickly had to dodge a fist coming at her face. Ducking to the side, she stuck the end of her staff against his midriff and triggered its electricity.

Still no reaction. _How is he...?_

A swift kick to her chest sent the lightweight owl girl flying, and she landed right next to her attackers knife. Grabbing it, she flew up about ten feet and dived for momentum, slashing at his arm and drawing blood. But he continued approaching as if she had only bopped him with a feather duster.

Screech attempted to throw a punch, but he caught her wrist and pulled her to the ground, pinning her down. She landed on her stomach and her weight triggered her orb to lift stealth mode. Her attacker seemed to freeze.

The owl saw movement from the corner of her eye and turned her head to see Aqualad running towards them. The knifeman hadn't appeared to have seen him yet. Widening her eyes, Screech thought to her teammate, _No, stop! He'll kill you! Just hide!_

The Atlantean stopped, looking reluctant. _But-_

_Please, do it! Do it now!_ The owl pleaded.

With a minute nod, Aqualad dove behind a chimney. Screech couldn't help but be relieved; though it looked like she was going to die, at least her friends were safe.

The man turned her over and sat on her chest, effectively pinning her again. His bloody knife went to her neck, and though she knew it was futile, the Thanagarian started struggling to get away. She felt fear and panic rising up in her chest, then into her throat. The girl's eyes widened as realized what was going to happen next. _Cover your ears!_ She thought frantically to Kaldur just before she opened her mouth and let loose a piercing screech that lasted until she ran out of breath and went limp, panting.

In her past experience, this would knock out or seriously disorient anyone in the vicinity. It was how she stopped a mob of angry Thanagarians long enough to escape with her half-dead father, and how she narrowly avoided being a test subject for Venom before meeting Shayera. It was also what led Shayera to her. But this... _creature_ was perfectly immune, if a little surprised.

The man removed his knife, leaned back, and appeared to look her up and down, then gave a sharp nod as though making a decision. Replacing the knife just hard enough to draw a few drops of blood, he brought his mouth near her ear and whispered, _"Beware The Court of Owls, that watches all the time, ruling Gotham from a shadowed perch, behind granite and lime. They watch you at your hearth, they watch you in your bed, speak not a whispered word of them or they'll send The Talon for your head."_

And with that, he got off of her and fled, disappearing into the night. He left behind a very confused, unnerved and slightly dazed Thanagarian.

_Beware the... what? What the hell does that mean?_ The Talon bit sounded familiar. She had heard whispers on the streets of Gotham about someone going by that name. She committed the rhyme to memory, before another thought hit her. _Wait... didn't I cut his arm? He walked away completely unscathed!_

A dark hand made its way into her vision and she realized she was still lying on her back, gazing at the night sky. She grabbed the hand and let Kaldur help her up, groaning in fatigue and again when she saw the grim look on his face.

"Screech, we need to talk."

* * *

November 17, 2011. 9:52 AM

Ren was growing concerned. She hadn't seen Autumn all morning and Kaldur had disappeared with the mission files hours ago.

The entire Team had heard the two arguing when they returned to the Cave- they weren't exactly being quiet.

The Creatonian remembered the secluded ledge that her friend had used for alone time a few months prior. So she imagined her wings and flew up to find the owl right where she thought she'd be.

However, the cheerful wave and smile that usually greeted Ren were absent. The only thing showing that Autumn knew she was there was a blank look. She didn't even take out her earbuds.

The pink-haired girl sat next to the owl, pulled out an earbud and said with a lighthearted voice, "Dude, you have got to stop fucking up."

Autumn, in absolutely no mood for this, just leveled her with a glare and snatched back her earbud. "Shut up."

Ren smirked, "Someone's catty." She began to poke the younger girl in the shoulder over and over.

On a typical night, she would've been perfectly tolerant for this sort of behavior from her friend. But this was no where near a typical night, so she jerked away and snapped, "Don't touch me."

The Creatonian's eyes widened with seeing that something was seriously bothering the Thanagarian. She sobered up on her pestering-act, but not until she snatched the iPod away from her friend, "Okay. What happened?"

Autumn groaned irritably. "Almost everything that could've gone wrong short of dying." She rubbed her bruised wrists.

"Dying?"

"As you can see, it didn't actually happen," the girl said, gesturing to herself.

"Yeah, but by the look of it, you got seriously hurt."

"I wouldn't call a few bruises and a little knife cut 'serious.'"

Ren leaned closer, examining the wounds, "The guy we were looking for did this to you?"

"Yup. It's nothing big, should be completely healed in a week or so."

"Then why are you shaking?"

"Just tired." Ren gave her a look. "Fine, exhausted."

The Creatonian leaned back on her hands, "What was the guy like?"

"He was wearing all black- including a hood, so I couldn't see his face- and had infared goggles. That's how he spotted me, despite the fact that I had my orb's stealth mode on. Really good fighter, I swear nothing affected him. At all. I even shocked him and cut him with a knife. Nothing!"

"Hmm… At least we got some information on the guy. Did he do anything else?"

"He... well, he had pinned me near the end of the fight. I could've sworn he was going to kill me, but I screeched- you know, that thing I told you about, that I used to get away from the Thanagarian mob- and he seemed to reconsider. So he put his knife to my neck, whispered this weird rhyme and took off."

Ren narrowed her eyes, "Rhyme? What rhyme?"

* * *

Kaldur was still fuming. The nerve of his teammate! Disobeying orders, keeping an ability secret...

Almost getting herself killed.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes, anger fading. If he was honest with himself, he was much more worried than mad. Her tweaking orders was nothing new; it's why they tended to butt heads on missions. But nothing could describe the panic he had felt when the younger girl had cut off her mental transmission to her location, or when he found her pinned by a man with a knife in hand. And the fear he had heard in Screech's thoughts when she pleaded him to back off was heartbreaking.

The Atlantean was sitting at the kitchen table, still going over mission files. He looked up when he heard hard footsteps coming towards him. He stood up and braced himself for the inevitable lecture when his eyes landed on the Dark Knight. So, he was surprised when Batman started with:

"Robin tells me you and Screech Owl got into a disagreement."

Once over his shock, Kaldur sighed and looked down. "Disagreement may be a bit of an understatement, sir."

"She disobeyed our orders?"

He was about to say yes, but looking back without anger clouding his judgement... "She confronted the target, yes. But... it sounded like he attacked her first. I think the only order she disobeyed was when she neglected to call for backup right away. And at least we now have a description of the killer."

Batman nodded, "Yes. That is good."

The Dark Knight knew exactly who Screech had been fighting. The question was, why didn't the Talon kill her? It wasn't like the Court of Owls to let a witness live. Aqualad had merely been lucky he wasn't spotted. He continued on, "Kaldur'ahm, it seems that Screech Owl will take time to get used to fighting on a team. When I first took in Robin, he still needed exercise in following orders as a crime fighter. It will take patience, which you have. That is why you are team leader."

Kaldur nodded in agreement. "I will work on it, sir. Thank you."

The conversation was cut short when Ren ran in, "Batman. I need to talk to you. Now."

The Dark Knight turned to face the Creatonian, "What is it?"

She looked down, "Uh… It has to do with _the nursery rhyme_."

Batman's eyes narrowed and he began to hastily walk out of the room, beckoning Ren to follow and giving a signal to Kaldur, telling him to 'stay put.'

"Tasia! Wait up! What did I say?" Autumn came running into the kitchen, trying to catch up to Ren. The girl had bolted back into the cave halfway through the rhyme.

"Screech, stay put."

The owl skid to a stop at Kaldur's words, and she narrowed her eyes at him. "Why?"

"Because Fantasia and Batman are having a private conference."

She blinked. "Oh. Then I'll just..." She trailed off and started walking out the way she had came.

"Screech, wait." Kaldur caught her wrist, quickly letting go at her quiet hiss of pain.

Rubbing her wrist and cradling it to her, the girl scanned her leader with a narrowed gaze. It softened when she saw no signs of anger. "What?"

"I wish to apologize... about earlier." The Atlantean couldn't hold Autumn's gaze and he looked down. "I was just worried about you and that concern manifested itself as anger."

The child furrowed her brow in confusion. "Why would you be worried?"

Kaldur's head snapped up, staring at his teammate like she had said the most ludicrous thing in the world, and, given circumstances, it wasn't too far off. "Why would I-? You were almost killed! Why would I not be worried?"

Autumn's mouth parted in a silent O of understanding. "I... never thought of that," she whispered, almost to herself.

The Atlantean was completely bewildered. How had that possibility never cross her mind? Something was fishy here, but before he could ask, Autumn yawned.

Knowing how rare it was for the owl to be tired at any half-decent time, he said, "Why don't you get some sleep? We can talk about this tomorrow."

The girl nodded. "Okay. See you later." She walked out of the room, only to pop her head back in a second later. "Sorry about tweaking the plan... again. I'll try to get better at that."

"That would be appreciated," Kaldur smiled, and she smiled back.

As she lied on her bed that night, the rhyme played on repeat in her head until she fell asleep. She just couldn't figure it out.

* * *

"You knew this entire time and didn't tell us?"

Ren looked up at the man who raised her in shock. As a child, he would tell her, Dick, and Gar the nursery rhyme. She always thought they were mere legend. She was shocked that he knew the Court was behind all of this from the beginning.

"I didn't want you and the Team to try and find the Court of Owl on your own. They are not a force to be reckoned with. I was going to inform you of them though, after the mission."

"It is after the mission."

"And the information will be given to the rest of the Team soon. What I want to know is why the Talon did not kill Screech Owl and why did he recite the rhyme?"

"Maybe to intimidate her?"

Batman wasn't sure. All he knew was he needed to keep digging.

He needed answers.


	13. A Bit of Silly Hope

**A/N: Hallie: Hey darlings!**

**Emu: Hello everyone. :)**

**Hallie: I wrote this chapter solo, while Emu proofread it. We do not own Young Justice or Who Loves You. I do own Ren, the Voice, and Creatonia. Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarian subspecies. Feedback is always appreciated. **

**Emu: Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

December 9, 2011

It was only a whisper.

It should seem like nothing.

But, where were these thoughts coming from?

Ren didn't know.

It would just comment on things. Random things. In really negative ways.

And when she talked back, it responded.

It was scaring her.

And that wasn't very common.

* * *

Ren couldn't focus. She couldn't think. She was freaking out.

It was so cliché. So typical. And all she wanted was for him to _get out of her fucking head._

First, it was just that stupid voice and now this. The two didn't mix very well.

She had been questioning her feelings for a few months now, but would always find a way to push them to the side. Her songs kept reflecting what her mind and heart were saying. The Creatonian finally had enough debating and asked herself this: _If he asked me out, what would I say?_

Yes. Immediately.

Ren Logan had a crush. She wasn't sure what to do.

She was only thirteen, she felt that it was too young to be dating. Would the feelings for him even last until she felt that the time was right? Would he even feel the same if they did?

If he didn't... Gods, that would be awkward. They lived under the same roof.

Even when she got a normal thing like a crush, it turned out to be not-so-normal, after all. She thought of herself as a halfway decent actress, so she hoped that it wouldn't be too obvious.

'_It is going to be the most obvious thing in the world. He will get deterred by it and you can say goodbye to your best friend. It's all your fault if that happens. You shouldn't have allowed yourself to have feelings for him.'_

It wasn't like she had a choice.

'_But don't you?'_

What did that even mean? She brought her head to her hands with a groan.

Being thirteen sucked.

She was broken out of her thoughts when she heard Black Canary say that training was over. Screech and Conner had just finished their sparring round. She turned around to exit the room, only to come face to face with Robin.

He grinned, "Hey, Princess. Great job taking down Kid Mouth today."

A distant "Hey!" was heard from a certain ginger speedster.

Ren blushed, "Thanks."

She was mentally slapping herself. 'Princess' wasn't even a term of endearment, it was a nickname. Why did she have to blush?

Wally had walked over to the two and seen the interaction, and when Robin left he turned to the Creatonian with a knowing smirk on his face. She glared at him, "Not a word."

* * *

She would master a new move.

_'They think you could have done better.'_

She would finish a new song.

_'What's the point? No one is ever going to hear it.'_

She would come home with an all-A report card once again.

_'It's nothing special and neither are you.'_

With everything she completed, the voice would have something negative to say about it. She would try to ignore it, but it wasn't easy. It was with her everywhere she went. In her head. Ready to see to the next thing it could try and ruin for her.

Ren was having a hard time believing that this voice was her. Why would she think those things? What would be the point?

She was never one to tear herself down. She wasn't self-destructive. It was like the voice was in her... but is wasn't her. Confusing, but that is what it seemed to be.

It seemed to be worse when it had to do with her feelings- especially those having to do with a certain acrobat.

The Creatonian would attempt to act natural. Even so, a blush here or there would arise when they interacted.

_'The boy is no idiot. He will detect your affections soon enough and will be put off. He will never like you.'_

It was with comments similar to these where she became the most stubborn.

No. There was always a possibility until told otherwise.

Right?

* * *

She would protest, ignore, and debate the voice to her heart's content, but it did no good. The voice was still there and going strong. Her new tactic was to accept the comments as bullshit and tell herself that they didn't matter.

Easier said than done.

The voice had a way of digging into the corners of her mind and wedging its words there, so they would stick and she would be made to think about them over and over. That constant thinking on negative things didn't do her self-esteem much good.

They say that if you think of something enough, it would become true. That was starting to play true for Ren. She was starting to doubt and no amounts of music or rationalizing seemed to be fixing it.

* * *

Wally found Ren in her room at the Cave. After training the past few days, she had gone straight there. Usually, she would go and hang with him, Robin, or Autumn- locking herself away was a clear sign that something was not right in that pink head of hers.

He found her hanging upside down on her bed with her eyes closed. She was humming the melody of _Who Loves You. _

He walked in and stood in front of her. The speedster's footsteps caused a violet eye to open. Wally raised his eyebrows at her, "You gonna let me make it right?"

The Creatonian let out an amused snort and flipped right-side up. She cocked her head to the left, "Can I help you?"

He rolled his eyes and set next to the younger girl, "Cut the crap, Princess. What's going on in that crazy head of yours?"

"Nothing more than usual."

"So, the random blushing just appeared out of nowhere? You are too young to be having those thoughts."

Ren's eyes widened and she shoved Wally, almost knocking him off the bed. "You're an idiot."

He grinned, "I'm only trying to keep you pure."

"WALLY." The Creatonian's cheeks became a deep red.

He shot his arms up into the air, "Success! I embarrassed the unembarrassable."

She looked at the ground, trying to hide a smile, "Will you go away?"

"Nope. Not until you tell me what's going on."

Ren let out a groan, "Why am I able to resist everyone else's pestering but yours? How come you successfully use my own method against me?"

She expected the ginger to make a witty comeback, what she didn't expect for him to say, in all seriousness, was, "Because you trust me to help you."

She opened her mouth to say something, but no words came out. It… was true. For some reason, Wally West was the only one she felt fully comfortable opening up to about what was bothering her. It was most likely because he wasn't someone she was constantly trying to make sure wasn't in any pain like she was with Autumn and Robin.

If Wally felt down, he would always turn to his Uncle Barry.

That left him open to make sure the little comforter wasn't attempting to handle a giant load on her own. She would rarely talk about huge things, like her father, but even the small things were good for her.

She took a deep breath, "I… have a crush."

Wally smirked, "I've noticed."

Ren's head dropped down, "If _you_ noticed then he definitely did too."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"I-I don't know. I mean, he hasn't really acted any differently. Maybe he's trying to ignore it?"

The speedster's joking demeanor was completely dropped for the time being, "You don't think that he could ever feel the same?"

"I'm not really sure."

'_Don't kid yourself. You know that your affections will never be returned. Stop hoping, it will only lead to disappointment.'_

That is not true. It's not.

"What if he did?"

"I'm only thirteen Wally. He just turned fourteen. Doesn't that seem a bit young to start a relationship?"

The speedster thought about it for a moment, "Not really."

"Well, it does to me. I, personally, know I am not ready for a relationship at this age. What if we messed up and couldn't move past it? That wouldn't really transfer over to the hero thing too well."

Wally nodded in understanding, "Alright. What I still don't understand is why you've been locking yourself up in your room. Okay, you have a crush. Why does that equal hiding out?"

The Creatonian wondered if she should tell him about the voice. What would he think? That she has gone mental? No thanks. "I… have been having doubts about things. I may not be ready for a relationship, but rejection still would hurt. I mean, clearly, I am not the only girl in the world and-"

"He's not going to reject you." Wally froze. He had not meant to say that.

Ren quirked an eyebrow, "And how do you know this?"

He swallowed. Should he tell her? No, he promised not to. "I… don't know. Fully."

"Fully?"

Wally let out a nervous chuckled, "Ya know what, nevermind. Let's get back on topic. You. Let's… Let's talk about you."

She looked at the older boy oddly, "Okay then…" The girl looked away with a mischievous glint in her eyes. Suddenly, she pounced on the speedster's back, making him fall onto the bed. "TELL ME WHAT YOU KNOW."

"NEVER! GET OFF ME!"

She pinned him on the bed and sat on his back, "Not until you tell me what you got all nervous about."

"I can't tell you!" Wally wriggled underneath her grip, trying to escape.

"Then I guess we will be here for a while."

He groaned, "You can't always get information by holding people hostage."

"Why not? It works for Batman."

Another groan. He hated Batbrats sometimes. Wally thought hard (which kinda hurt); how could he get out of this? "I can't tell you because I promised not to. You of all people should understand the importance of keeping promises."

Ren let out a sigh of defeat. He was right. Promises were always to be kept. She got off her self-proclaimed older brother's back and sat normally on the bed. He stood up, stretching his back. "Ow."

The Creatonian grinned. A knock at the door made their heads turned, M'gann poked her head through the door, "Is everything alright in here? We heard yelling."

The duo shared a look, responding in unison, "Everything's fine."

The Martian smiled, "Alrighty. Come out into the kitchen soon, I made cookies!"

Wally smiled, "Will do."

After the green girl left, Ren turned to the fifteen-year-old, "No pass on Megs? Who are you and what did you do with Wally?"

He rolled his eyes, "She's with Supey now. I have more dignity than that you know."

"You sure it isn't about a certain blonde archer?"

Wally froze, this time a blush was rising up on his cheeks, "I-I… No. No, of course not."

The girl grinned at the success of being able to fluster the speedster, "I'm just messing with you." She began to walk out of her room, "And Wally? You got lucky with that promise. Next time, you might not be."

He gave the girl a glance as she exited the room. God, she could make you wonder sometimes.

* * *

_He's not going to reject you. I don't know. Fully. _

Ren stared at her ceiling, back in the Manor. She couldn't fall asleep. What did he mean by that?

Obviously, he knew something. But what?

The talk with Wally had helped. She may not like verbally telling people her problems but, getting it out into the world did have it advantages.

Not going to reject you… Did he mean that if she told him her feelings he wouldn't be put off?

'_Of course he would be.'_

How would Wally know this, though?

Duh- Richard was his best friend. They probably would talk about these things.

Did Richard tell Wally something about how he felt about her and promised him not to tell?

'_Only that he would never be interested.'_

Would you shut up?

Could Richard, maybe, possibly, return her feelings? Could that be what Wally almost said (or implied)?

'_You know better than to hope for things like that, Little Dreamer.'_

No.

She wasn't doubting this that much anymore.

She smiled.

There was some hope in this silly crush after all.


	14. Caged Bird

**A/N: Hallie: First off- We appreciate the love for this story, we really do. But, please be patient with chapter updates. Both of us have busy schedules and school. This story will not be abandoned, but we will update when we update. **

**Emu: On that note, we also apologize for how long we took to update. We do have our reasons, but it has been awhile. **

**Hallie: The goal is to have FoM done by the end of 2015. With Christmas break nearing, we should have more time to get it done, if we stop procrastinating. **

**Emu: Probably easier said than done, but we'll work on it. **

**Hallie: I will force us to get this done. That said, I am really proud of how we did on this chapter. It came out really well (in my opinion). I own Ren and Creatonia. Emu owns Screech and the Owl Thanagarian minority. **

**Feedback is always appreciated.**

**Enjoy! :D**

* * *

December 13, 2010

Ren peaked up from her phone when she saw Autumn heading towards the zeta tubes, "Owlet? Where are you going?"

She stopped in her tracks and turned to face the Creatonian, "Just going to explore the caves around the mountain."

"Been there. Done that." She looked back to her phone, "Have fun and stay safe."

The Owl nodded before continuing to the tubes, "I will! See ya later."

* * *

Autumn had been out for about half an hour and hadn't made it too far into the caverns, seeing as she was rather busy admiring the rock structures, taking a few pictures and mentally noting possible places to explore more.

She was considering using one of these caves as a bolthole when the ground started to shake slightly. It stopped after a few seconds, but she was a lot less keen on going further now. Turning around, she warily headed back the way she had come. Things remained calm for a while, and she started to relax a bit.

Without warning, the shaking started up again, worse than before. Autumn broke into a clumsy run, knocking into the cave walls and stumbling over her feet. In her haste, she took a wrong turn and ended up in a dead end. Before she could turn around and start running back, the ceiling started falling in. The owl backed up against the wall, trying to avoid the falling rocks.

The dust soon settled, revealing a wall of rock blocking off the tunnel she had come from. Immediately, she sprang up and ran for the wall. "Oh no, no no no. Please be a way out, please, please," she muttered as she paced back and forth with her flashlight, searching frantically for a hole big enough to squeeze through or a weak spot on the rocks. But all the gaps were too small, and any rocks she could move would probably cause another cave in.

"Okay... Okay, stay calm. I'm not trapped; I still have my phone and comm. Just call Tasia. She'll get me out."

Rummaging through her pouch, she quickly found her phone and dialed the Creatonian, but nothing happened. She glanced at the screen. No service.

"Just great! Of course!" She ran a slightly shaky hand through her hair. "Okay, try the comm. Maybe it'll work better." She activated the device. "Screech Owl here, does anyone read me?"

Nothing but static.

The Owl started pacing the small area of the cave anxiously, panic rising in her chest. "Not again, please no..." She walked over to the new wall again and started yelling, "SOMEBODY HELP ME! PLEASE!" She knew it would be useless, though. No one else would be down here, and she hadn't been gone long nearly enough for someone to start searching for her.

Autumn forced herself to stop yelling and breathe. "D-don't worry, someone will come. Tasia or Kaldur. Someone will find me. Hopefully sooner than later."

* * *

It had been hours since Ren had last seen or heard from Autumn. She was growing worried about the whereabouts of her friend. Autumn wasn't answering her comm and Ren couldn't find her anywhere around the Cave.

Kaldur told her not to worry and that she would turn up later. Ren still went out to look around the cave, where the Owl had mentioned she was headed off to.

Ren was trekking through the wooded side of the Mountain. She was passing a few of the caves that were scattered throughout the area, "AUTUMN? Are you out there?"

The Creatonian just so happened to be nearing the cave the Autumn was trapped in. The Thanagarian had paced for a while, continuing to check for a signal or a way out. She ended up curling up in the corner of the cave, losing hope that she was ever going to be found. She jerked her head up when she heard the calls of her best friend, "Ren? REN!" She began to tear up with relief, "GET ME OUT OF HERE!"

Ren could just make out the calls for help, "Kid? Where are you?"

The Owl's super hearing allowed her to hear Ren take a step in the wrong direction, causing her body to run cold with panic. She ran to the wall of collapsed rock and began to pound on it, not noticing the pain in her desperate hopes to make enough noise, "HERE! CAVE IN! T-TRAPPED! GETMEOUTGETMEMOUT!"

The Creatonian heard the pounding on the rock and turned to see the filled-in cave. She rushed over, "Here? Are you here?"

Autumn could make out Ren's louder voice outside the cavern, and sank against the wall, "YES! Yes… Oh, thank you. Please, let me out."

"Alright. Okay. Hang on kiddo." Ren took a deep breath.

Breathe.

Focus on your powers.

She was able to imagine a door portal to the other side of the cave and opened it. Autumn saw the door portal and sprung up, rushing out and crashing into Ren. The smaller girl clung to her friend, crying with relief, "Th-thank you."

Ren had stumbled back due to the impact of the hug but wrapped her arms around the Owl. "Hey, hey. Kiddo. You're okay now. You're safe."

Autumn nodded mutely, but still didn't release the Creatonian. Ren, going into full big-sister-mode, pulled away to look the younger girl in the eye, "What happened?"

"Earthquake. The ceiling caved in, and I got stuck behind it. My phone and comm didn't work and," She looked away. "I sorta… freaked out."

Ren gave her a comforting smile, "Hey. It's alright. Most people aren't fearless. You're okay now."

Autumn tipped her head up to really look at the Creatonian as she thought, '_You're not exactly "Most People," are you?'_

The Owl fully let go of Ren and wiped the tears off her face, "Yeah. I know."

Ren furrowed her brows when she noticed that Autumn's hands were covered in scratches, "Why are you all cut up?"

"Wha-?" Autumn looked down at her hands, noticing the injuries for the first time. "Oh, I must have gotten those when pounding on the rocks." She gingerly opened her pouch and took out an armband, placing it against one hand to stop the bleeding. This left her other hand unattended to, but it wasn't too bad. She could cover it later.

The Creatonian reached over and ruffled the girl's hair, "We should get back to the Cave."

Autumn nodded and glanced around nervously, "Yeah. Let's go." She matched her pace with Ren's and the duo walked in silence for about thirty seconds before the Owl spoke up, "Hey, Tas?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind not telling anyone about…" Autumn gestured to the rocks behind them, "That?"

The Creatonian nodded, "If that's what you want. I promise not to."

The younger girl looked ahead with a small smile on her face, "Thanks."

* * *

_Recognized, Fantasia. B01._

_Recognized, Screech Owl. B08._

The Team, who had gathered in the main section of the Cave, turned to face the zeta tubes at the sound of the computer's voice. Wally let out an exasperated laugh as the two girls walked towards their teammates, "There you two are!"

Kaldur stepped forward, towering over the young teens, "Where were you?"

Ren glanced at Autumn, unphased by the stern look the Atlantean was giving them, "Exploring."

Robin, who was standing next to Zatanna, piped up, "Find anything new?"

She tucked a strand of her pink hair behind her ear while shrugging, "Nothing I haven't seen before."

Conner narrowed his eyes as his gaze fell upon the Thanagarian's bandaged hand, "What happened to her hands?"

Autumn glanced up at him, but quickly averted her gaze and said, a bit too fast, "Ran into a thorn bush."

The Kryptonian said nothing but raised his brows in suspicion.

The Owl saw this and fidgeted with the end of her armband bandage, "It's nothing guys. Just some scratches."

M'gann stepped forward from her spot next to Conner, "If you're sure. I made some cookies if you want some."

Artemis crossed her arms and shot a glare at Wally, "There aren't any left."

The Martian looked over at the speedster, "Wally!"

He shrugged, unashamed, "Fast metabolism, okay?"

Autumn halfheartedly smiled as she witnessed the speedster and Archer begin to bicker. She leaned closer to Ren, muttering to her, "I'm going to go clean up. There are bandages and disinfectant in the bathroom, right?"

The Creatonian nodded.

Conner's watchful eye followed the Thanagarian as she left without another word. His concern for the younger girl and curiosity for what had honestly occurred were growing, but he did not follow.

The Team had apparently just finished training, and the girls avoided an immediate lecture from Black Canary by coming in right after she'd left. Though, Ren knew that some drawn out speech on punctuality would be given to her by Bats later that night.

The rest of the teenage heroes dispersed, going off to do their own things. The Creatonian was surprised when Robin and Zatanna didn't leave together; the two had been spending quite a bit of time together. (Which Wally and Ren would constantly tease them about.)

The Boy Wonder made his way over to Ren, giving her a bit of a nudge. "You gonna tell me what really happened back there?"

She scrunched up her nose and nudged him back, "Promised not to. Why aren't you off spending time with your girlfriend~" Ren's voice teasingly sang the final word, making Robin roll his eyes under his mask.

The crush Ren had just come to terms with, she pushed to the very back of her mind. She saw his interest in Zatanna and was not going to invade in her best friend's possible happiness. Besides, she wasn't going to pursue something that showed signs of ending nowhere.

She refused to endanger the friendship that meant the world to her.

"Stop calling her that."

"You like her! Stop denying it."

"I- uhg." Robin shook his head in annoyed amusement. Once the Creatonian had her mind decided on something, it was a challenge to change it.

It wasn't that he didn't like Zatanna.

He did.

But, there were other feelings mixed into it all. Feelings concerning one bold, imaginative, stubborn girl. All of them kept getting jumbled up in his confused, young teenage mind.

Ren was excellent at showing people the feelings she wanted them to see, so it was difficult to tell if any of the feelings were reciprocated.

He wasn't entirely sure what he felt, so he didn't say anything.

The acrobat let out a grunt as the Creatonian jumped on his back, her arms and legs wrapped around his like she was a koala. "You are now my ride. Take me to the kitchen."

"And why should I do that?"

"Because I can hear your stomach growling."

Robin let out a resentful, yet lighthearted grumble as he trudged towards their destination.

* * *

December 14, 2010, 3:27 AM

_Autumn looked around her. She was in a huge, windowless building that looked like a warehouse, relatively clean but entirely barren. Dim yellow lights hanging from the ceiling provided a faint glow, casting a pitch black shadow behind her. A sense of foreboding hung heavily in the air. _

_The Owl spotted a door on the furthest wall and started running towards it, flinching as her loud, echoing footsteps broke the absolute silence of the room. _

_Quickly reaching the door, she attempted to open it, but the handle refused to move. _

_Locked. _

_Fighting down fear, Autumn took another look around. Perhaps there was another way out? She spotted the loft ahead and started flying up to it in hopes of finding something helpful up there. _

_She wasn't ten feet off the ground before she flew face first into something and fell, landing on cold metal. The owl shook herself out of her daze and pushed herself up so she could see what she had hit. _

_A… Metal bar? When did that get there?_

_A quick glance around revealed more of them, all around her, keeping her in. _

_She was in a cage. Alone. In a locked building. There didn't appear to be any way out; no padlock to pick, nor electronic lock to hack. And no one knew she was there. _

_She took a step towards the bars to inspect them for possible weak points, but the second her fingers met cool metal, a wave of sound bombarded her ears. Yelling. _

_Out of nowhere, dozens of hands grabbed at her from all sides, the faces of their owners blurred and indistinct. They grabbed at her arms, legs, clothes, and wings. Autumn was unable to stay out of reach in her cramped confinement, and the hands caught hold of her, pulling and clawing angrily. She tried to struggle, to get away from them, but she couldn't move, couldn't escape. She was trapped. _

Autumn shot awake in her bed, eyes flickering around wildly. Bookshelf, dresser, alarm clock… She was in her room at the cave. The girl pulled her knees close to her, trying to calm down her loud, rasping breaths; the only sound in the otherwise dead silence.

The only thing to occupy her mind was the memory of that building. Her first year or so on earth, she had visited that place frequently in her nightmares. She had been taken there the night her parents died, caught in her escape. It had been awhile since she had dreamed about it, but it didn't take much thought to figure out what the trigger had been.

The Owl looked down and let out a shuddering sigh. Red was seeping through the bandages around her hands: she must've reopened the cuts in her sleep. But it wasn't bad. It'd probably stop bleeding in a matter of minutes, and besides; she couldn't be bothered to change them.

The confined-quiet quickly got to the Thanagarian. Deciding just to sit outside for a bit, she got out of bed, slipping on her coat and grabbing her belt pouch out of habit. Slowly, she crept towards the door to her room, almost scared to try and open it.

It slid open with little resistance. Through her relief, Autumn chided herself. Of course, it was unlocked, why wouldn't it be? She was on home territory.

She had only taken a few steps outside of her room before she stopped sharply, taking a quick step back to avoid being run into. "Conner?"

The clone raised a questioning eyebrow. "Where're you going?"

"Just outside," Autumn replied, trying to step around Conner but being blocked each time. "You're welcome to join me; I'm not going anywhere special."

The Kryptonian shrugged indifferently but followed the Owl girl out of the door and to a small ledge. The two sat next to each other, neither speaking.

After a little glance at Conner's usual short-sleeve shirt, Autumn took her small metal orb out of her pouch and messed with the buttons. The older hero didn't know it, but she had just activated the mini-atmosphere setting to guard against the December night chill. She didn't need it- if she got cold, she could cover up with her wings and fluff out her feathers- but she wasn't sure about her Kryptonian friend.

"What are you doing up, anyway?" She asked as she put the device away.

Conner shrugged again. "You were mumbling in your sleep."

Autumn looked up at him. "I-I was?" The clone nodded, and the Owl looked down at her hands. "Oh... Sorry."

Silence hung in the air between them, neither sure what to say. Finally, Conner attempted to break the silence, tentatively reaching out towards Autumn as he spoke. "You know Screech, if something's wrong, you can-"

The young heroine jerked away fearfully as his hand touched her shoulder, effectively cutting off the clone.

Conner's eyes widened slightly in surprise. The Owl had never displayed such aversion to touch before. Sure, she never seemed overly fond of it either, but her flinching away so violently was... unsettling. What was wrong?

He could see Autumn's eyes were tightly shut, her breathing was faster, and she was lightly trembling. The girl had curled up into herself as though to protect herself from attack. Instinctively, he started to reach out for her again but thought better of it. Instead, he called out, "Screech?"

Receiving no reaction, he watched on in concern as his teammate fought herself back under control. It took about a minute for her to manage it. Breathing now back to normal, she opened her amber orbs and looked up at Conner. After a few seconds, she offered up a weak smile. "S-sorry, I'm just sorta jumpy tonight."

Conner was having none of it. "What was that about?"

"Nothing you need to worry about," the Thanagarian replied, trying to play the whole thing off as nothing. Her fidgeting with the hem of her pajama pants belied her words. She knew this but hoped the clone wouldn't comment on it. She didn't want to get into an argument with yet another teammate and, wired as she was; she knew that would probably happen if he pushed her too far. Plus, if she snapped she'd probably mention that his touch had momentarily flashed her back to her dream in the most incoherent way possible and likely get herself sent to Black Canary. As much as she liked the older heroine, she was in no mood for her professional company.

She was also strongly unwilling to do anything that might drive Conner away in the future. The fact that he had come to check on her when he heard her having a nightmare was rather touching, and she didn't want him to regret it. Shouting at him would almost certainly put him off.

...But God, she hoped she hadn't actually woken him up. Or said anything she didn't want him to know.

In fact, Conner was thinking about how Screech would be mortified to know that she had woken him. He hadn't been asleep long, perhaps about an hour or so, when her sleep-talking had wormed its way into his sleep, consequently disrupting it. He hadn't been able to understand much, though. What he could make out was mainly along the lines of "No!" and "Let me go!" But the mutterings had been occasionally punctuated with pained cries, and through it all, her breathing rate had been much too fast. He had also heard Screech's bed frame creaking as she thrashed about restlessly.

He had only listened for a few minutes before he made up his mind to see if she was okay, and he was glad he had. The Owl girl definitely needed some company. She was in no way the most open of the Team, but to see her almost hiding in her coat, knees to her chin, eyes down and sitting a foot away from his arm to make sure she didn't mistakenly brush up against him, was just sad. He hated seeing her like that.

Glancing down at Screech's fidgeting fingers, Conner noticed the now-dry substance that had seeped through her bandages. He debated with himself over whether or not he should say something but bit his tongue. It didn't look too bad, and the Thanagarian would probably prefer to fix it herself in the morning. She did have a tendency of wanting to tend to her wounds.

Conner really wanted to know what had her so shaken up. He was 95% certain it had to do with whatever had happened while she was exploring. Clearly, she hadn't simply run into a thornbush, if that had even occurred. She was obviously covering something up, and Fantasia had helped her. So either the Creatonian somehow didn't know what was wrong or, much more likely, thought that the problem was minor enough that the Team didn't need to know. A mild reassurance. But still...

The clone bit the inside of his cheek for a second before opening his mouth. "Can I... Is there anything I can do to help?"

Autumn's gaze flew up to meet Conner's, relieved and a little surprised. After a moment of hesitation, she replied, "Maybe... stay out here with me? If you don't mind, of cour-"

"No problem," he cut her off, shooting her a little smile that she gratefully returned.

"Thanks."

The two friends lapsed into a comfortable silence, lost in their thoughts. And as the sky lightened, Autumn slowly managed to relax, the lingering fear from her dream and the previous day gradually melting away. By the time dawn broke and various shades of red and orange bathed the clouds, she was sitting with her legs dangling over the ground, almost shoulder to shoulder with Conner.


	15. The Sun Emerges

**A/N: Hallie: Five chapters left to go. We will try and churn them out as quick as we can.**

**Emu: That being said, also keep in mind that it is Christmas/the winter holiday season and we will be busy with family and such, too. (And Merry Christmas!)**

**Hallie: Though a Christmas chapter will hopefully be up within the next few days. **

**We do not own Young Justice.**

**I own Creatonia, Ren, and Sol.**

**Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarian Sub-race. **

**Emu: Enjoy the chapter! :D**

* * *

December 18, 2010

Wally and Ren burst into the living room section of Mountain Justice, anxiously looking around and red from laughter. The speedster was out of breath, "H-hiding place. We need a hiding place!"

Ren could barely speak as she was choking on her own laughter.

Autumn, who was sitting on the couch across from them reading a book, looked at the duo like they were crazy. Kaldur crossed his arms, "What are you two trying to hide from?"

Robin stalked out from the same direction Ren and Wally had come from, dressed in a towel around his waist, his sunglasses, and neon blue hair. Wally grabbed Ren's wrist and ducked behind the couch, trying to avoid the boy's wrath.

Autumn and Kaldur attempted to muffle their laughter.

Robin spoke through gritted teeth, "Give me back my clothes and change my hair!"

The Creatonian's pink-haired head peaked over the couch, "Ah, come on Bird Boy, laugh a little!"

The Acrobat glared at the hiding heroes, "You two go too far sometimes! This isn't funny!"

The Thanagarian was still chuckling as she spoke up quietly, "Come on guys, you've had your fun. Give him his clothes back at the very least."

Robin shot the girl a grateful smile, which she returned. Ren scrunched up her nose as she relented, "Fine." The Creatonian imagined Robin back into his civvies. "But, the hair stays."

Wally's form continued to shake with laughter as he stood up from behind the couch, "Hey, we could have chosen a worse color. It could have been pea green."

The Team all gathered in the central section of the Cave after Red Tornado told them that Batman had something to inform them of.

Zatanna glanced at Robin's blue hair with a grin, "New look?''

Ren snorted as her friend blushed and scowled.

_Recognized, Batman. 02. Recognized, Sol. B12. _

Kaldur walked over to the two newcomers, confused with who the 'Sol' guy was. He looked over at the Dark Knight, "Who's this?"

Batman's eyes flitted to his protege's now blue hair, but said nothing about it, "Team, this is your new member, Sol."

Sol was taller with golden blonde hair that was trimmed on the side and loosely slicked back in the middle. He didn't look much older than Wally. He was wearing a light silver and pale yellow uniform, with a pair of futuristic-looking glasses covering his eyes. He smiled at the Team as he spoke with a thick southern accent, "Howdy!"

Kaldur smiled in return and held his hand out for a handshake, "Welcome to the Team, Sol. I am Aqualad, but my friends call me Kaldur." He turned to gesture to the rest of his teammates, "This is Robin."

The Boy Wonder stopped scowling long enough to greet the new member with a smile.

"Fantasia."

The Creatonian grinned at Sol, "Hey there, Sunbeam."

"Superboy."

A deadpan nod was all the southerner received.

"M'gann."

The Martian smiled and waved.

"Zatanna."

A wave.

"Kid Flash."

He smiled, "Call me Wally."

"Artemis."

The archer waved, "Hey."

"And Screech Owl."

The Thanagarian gave Sol a minuscule smile and nod.

Sol's grin never left his face, "Nice to meet ya'll!"

Ren's eyes scanned the newest member as she slowly walked up towards him, then proceeded to circle him. When she got back to his front, she looked him in the eye as she poked his chest. She waited to moment to see his reaction- that was little to none- before running behind him and jumping on his back.

Batman rolled his eyes under his mask at the Creatonian's behavior.

Sol craned his head to attempt to glance at Ren, "Am I your horse now, darlin'?"

Her laugh carried throughout the room, "I like him!"

Wally joined in with the laughter as he spoke to the Southerner, "Get used to it and her. She does it all the time."

"I'll keep that in mind." Sol's attention then turned to Robin, as he asked something that had been nagging at him since he entered the Cave, "Is your hair always blue?"

Robin's groan was the only response.

Batman's gaze locked on the Creatonian, "Change it back, Fantasia."

She rolled her eyes, "Fine." The Boy Wonder's hair returned to its normal ebony coloring after she imagined it so.

Sol's eye went wide, "Woah. How'd you do that?"

"I'm a Creatonian. Manifesting my imagination is my natural-born ability."

"Nice."

Batman dismissed the Team, reminding them that training with Black Canary would begin in two hours. He then left to attend to League business, leaving the young heroes to do as they please. Robin and Zatanna left to get lunch. Wally challenged Autumn, Artemis, and Kaldur to video games. And Superboy and M'gann went to do coupley things that the Martian had seen on her favorite Earth shows.

Ren was left alone with Sol. She hopped off of his back and looked up at the boy. "God, you're so much taller than me. How old are you?"

"Fourteen."

"Only a year older than me. Nice to know. I am assuming your powers are light based, due to your name."

He nodded, "You would assume correctly."

"So, do you have to follow the "secret-identity-around-your-team-members" thing like Rob and me?"

He waved his hand in a causal manner, "Nah. The name's Sterling Jones."

Ren smiled, "Well, I look forward to getting to know you, Sterling."

"Right back at cha, darling."

The duo stood there in silence for a few moments, just staring at one another. The Creatonian realized what she was doing and looked away, letting out a breathy laugh as her cheeks tinted pink. She grabbed Sterling's arm and began to drag him towards the library, "Come on. I'll give you the tour."

* * *

December 19, 2010

The new kid intrigued her.

Ren's mind continued wandering back to Sterling as she got ready for school. It had been a long time since she met someone who made her want to spend all of her time getting to know them. She felt giddy at the idea of getting to see him after school.

She had just met the guy yesterday.

Why was he on her mind so much?

She had just finished brushing her hair when she heard a knock on her bedroom door. A voice called in, "Are you good?"

"I'm dressed."

The door opened to reveal Dick dressed in his school uniform, "Breakfast is ready."

Ren shot him a smile, "Got it. Thanks!"

Dick leaned up against her door framed, watching the girl check her outfit in the mirror for a final time, "Hey. What do you think of Sol?"

"His real name is Sterling. And I really like him. He's going to be a great addition to the Team." Ren spun around and walked out of her room, passing Dick.

The Acrobat furrowed his brows, "He already told you his secret ID?"

The Creatonian looked over at him as they walked downstairs, "Yeah. Why is that so surprising? I just asked if he was forced to keep it a secret, like us, and he said no."

"I…" Dick gave his head a shake as if to clear it, "It's not really. That was a stupid question."

She snorted, "Yeah. It was."

As they walked into the dining room, he gave her a light shove, "Shut up."

Breakfast was eaten, and Ren, Dick, and Gar were off for another day of learning. As they waved goodbye to Alfred and made their way onto the school grounds, they spotted their friends. Artemis, Bette, and Babs walked over to greet the trio.

Ren began to gush about the latest episode of one of her favorite shows with Babs when a familiar voice caught her attention.

She heard a Southern drawl say, "Thank ya kindly for the tour, Mrs. Williams."

The Creatonian looked over to see a head of blonde hair that she recognized. Her green eyes widened as she saw that he was actually quite handsome for his age. She tried to keep from blushing as she tucked a strand of red hair behind her ear. She leaned over and poked Dick; he turned his attention to her with a quizzical expression.

Ren nodded her head towards the blonde boy, "Look."

Dick craned his head around the girls to see what she was talking about. He didn't understand what she was talking about, "That's the new kid. He's from Austin, Texas. What about him?"

She lowered her voice to a whisper as she hissed, "That's Sterling."

The acrobat's eyes widened and then his brows furrowed, "Are you sure?"

"Positive. Do you think he'll recognize us?"

Dick glanced back at the others a few feet away, making sure they weren't overhearing the conversation, "Arty still hasn't. If anything, she'll be the one he makes the connection to."

Sterling turned away from the now retreating teacher and caught sight of Ren and Dick shooting glances his way. He began to make his way over.

Dick took notice of this, "Or maybe he will."

The duo turned away from the approaching Southerner in hopes of making him think he didn't see what they thought he thought he saw. It didn't work.

Sterling tapped Ren on the shoulder, and she turned around, maintaining a neutral expression. He had a wide grin plastered on his face as he stuck his hand out, "Hi there! My name is Sterling Jones. I just moved here."

Ren's green eyes locked with his dark blue ones; she was trying to figure out if he really knew who they were or not. She shook his hand, "Nice to meet you. I'm Ren Logan."

Even though it didn't seem possible, his smile got even wider, "Pleasure to meet ya, Ren."

By this time, the rest of the group had turned their focus to the new guy. Sterling looked over at them and made sure to introduce himself. Ren watched him do so in amusement and a bit of shock.

He really didn't recognize her, Dick, or even Arty.

He was completely oblivious.

He hung around with them until the bell rang. He had started to talk about his love of the arts when it did. That sparked the Creatonian's interest even further.

Sterling wasn't only incredibly friendly; he was creative. The more she discovered, the more she liked.

He happened to share the same homeroom as her and Dick. As they walked to the classroom, Ren and Sterling were engrossed in an in-depth conversation about their favorite visual and musical artists.

Dick would be lying if he said he didn't feel a bit left out.

For some reason, Ren's fascination with the new kid made him slightly uncomfortable. It wasn't like to her be that wide-eyed with someone, despite her curious nature.

He pushed the feelings to the back of his mind, deciding that they weren't that important right now.

The Creatonian spent the rest of the school day practically glued to Sterling's side- not that he minded. He enjoyed getting to know her and having the knowledge that he had a friend so shortly after moving.

It wasn't until the school day was over and Ren and Sterling said their goodbyes did they part. Ren headed back to the Manor for a few hours, and Sterling chose to go back to the Cave.

Ren's smile didn't leave her face on the ride back home. Gar laughed as he sang, "Rennie's got a crush! Rennie's got a crush!"

She rolled her eyes as she gave her little brother a playful shove, "Stop that. You can be so childish Garfield."

Dick snorted, "Like you're one to talk."

She shot him a half-hearted glare, "Don't make me hurt you."

The two boys said nothing more; they just continued to laugh at the Creatonian's flustered behavior. She looked out the window, eyes locked on the passing buildings.

A crush?

She didn't have a crush on Sterling.

Right?

* * *

Autumn wasn't sure what to think of Sol. He seemed nice enough when he was talking to Tasia (so maybe she eavesdropped a little), but something didn't feel right. Perhaps it was judgemental of her, but something about him just struck her as arrogant. She couldn't think of what it could possibly be, though. The way he held himself, maybe? His tone of voice? The glasses he wore as a mask?

_I don't know, just something! _

_Of course, I could be making stuff up. I could very well look stuck up from his point of view, too. Should've at least waved Autumn, you're supposed to be working on this whole 'meeting new people' thing. _

Breaking out of her thoughts, Autumn got back to the task at hand. Trying to get her camera to focus.

It shouldn't be this difficult.

The owl scowled as she muttered, "Aw, come on! It's not _that _dark out here."

Sol was wondering around the outside of Mount Justice, trying to get to know the area better. He spotted the small girl crouched on the ground and went to stand behind her. The Thanagarian heard him coming and looked up, giving a slight nod in acknowledgment before turning back to her task.

Sol leaned closer, to get a better look at what she was trying to accomplish, "Whatcha doin' there darlin'?"

"Trying to take some pictures, but it's too dark." She sighed and lowered her camera.

Sol formed a ball of light in his hand and held it over the plant life she was trying to photograph, "Want me to help ya?"

Her eyebrows rose, a bit surprised at the offer, but she smiled, "Thanks!" She positioned her camera, "Stay still for a sec, this won't take long." She focused the shot and took a few pictures, changing up her position every once in awhile.

When she was done, she glanced up at Sol, who had straightened his posture. The ball of light in his hand gave him a wondrous glow as he grinned down at her. It was picture perfect.

She brought her camera up to her eye and took a quick photo of him, before looking up with an apologetic grin. She stood up and showed him the photo, which turned out pretty damn good. "I can delete it if you want."

His grin just widened, "Nah, I think it looks swell! You're superb with that camera. I like cameras too, just for filming purposes."

Her smile became less apologetic, "Thank you. It's just something I fool around with, but I've never done much with filming."

"I could teach ya some things with video someday if ya want."

"Would you? That'd be great!" Her eyes flitted to the ever-darkening sky, "Hey, we should probably get back inside."

Sol followed her gaze and saw that clouds were also beginning to gather, "I reckon you're right."

As they started to walk back to the Cave entrance, Sol spoke up, "Now tell me, is Fantasia someone you can become good friends with?"

"Well… I don't have much experience with befriending people, but it certainly wasn't too hard. It was worth whatever trouble there was, which was mostly on my end."

He gave a nod and a smile, "Good to know. I don't think yer all too bad at making friends. I mean, we're friends now, aren't we?"

Autumn froze for a second. Were they friends? She had only met Sol yesterday; it felt much too early to give him that title. It could be a trick of some sort, an attempt to receive her trust. He could easily have some kind of hidden agenda behind his bright smile. Sure, she could've been wrong when she read him as arrogant, but what if she wasn't? She hadn't been given enough time to observe his behaviors; she could've missed something!

But...

He had given her help without prompting. It was a trivial matter, but it was still help. And after a mere two interactions, during the first of which she was admittedly unwelcoming, he was outright offering his friendship.

And he looked so... innocent and hopeful. Autumn had a feeling that rejection of his proposal would leave him extremely disappointed. And disappointment was an emotion she hated to see on the faces of any of her teammates.

_To get anywhere with anything, risks need to be taken, and comfort zones left behind. I should still be careful, but... Maybe this can work out…_

With some degree of hesitation, she answered, "Yeah. I guess we are."

Sol let out a mirthful laugh, "Awesome." He reached over and ruffled the younger girl's hair.

The owl batted his hands away with a light laugh, "Why does everyone always insist on doing that?"

He cocked his head, "I think it's just a universal rule that when a girl has shorter hair, it is meant to be ruffled."

"...Okay. I'll accept that."

Sol laughed as the two finally reached a Cave entrance, "Yer an interestin' gal Screech. I hope to get to know ya better."

Autumn smiled, "I believe I can say the same thing about you, Sol."


	16. Foregone Flights

**A/N: Hallie: New chapter. This one was fun. It is basically how Ren and Autumn would fit into Performance because it is a kickass episode.**

**Emu: Not to mention there were some good bonding opportunities to be had.**

**Hallie: Because go character development! **

**Emu: Whoo! **

**Hallie: We do not own Young Justice. I do own Ren, Sterling, and Creatonia. Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarian Subrace. **

**Please leave a review if you liked the story or have any feedback. Enjoy the chapter! :)**

* * *

December 22, 2010

"Welcome to the Haly International Traveling Circus, where the world of deceivery is your oyster! And these are our latest pearls- The Daring Dangers!"

Autumn waited by Conner until their names were announced. "Dean Danger! And Devina Danger!"

That was her cue. Running towards Conner, she jumped into his cupped hands and let him give her a boost to the barrels he had thrown, silently thanking M'gann for helping them train for that. She was flung just below where Artemis and Roy had shot their arrows, and from there she front flipped before falling. Conner caught her with no effort and set her down before their next stunt.

The owl grinned. This act was sorta fun!

She caught sight of Roy, and her smile dropped as she remembered him and Robin speaking earlier. "You've got the mission covered," he had said, "But who's covering the four potential mole suspects you're bringing along?"

She rolled her eyes slightly. One would think that if he's so wary of them, he'd remember that two of them had super-hearing.

"_Robin!_" M'gann's voice rang out over the mental link. Looking up, Autumn saw that the Boy Wonder had missed the Martian's hands and was now falling.

With no net to catch him.

The Thanagarian squashed the urge to drop the coat that was hiding her wings so she could fly up and try to catch him, or, at least, slow his descent. They were undercover, after all.

Probably knowing what she was thinking, Robin called, "_Don't blow our cover!_"

"_But saving your life's okay?_" Conner asked rhetorically as he threw a barrel at the falling boy, who landed on top of it and let it carry him back to the trapeze. This time, he barely made it. Autumn sighed in relief.

"_What did I just say_?" Robin asked M'gann.

"_The crowd couldn't see me use telekinesis from below_," M'gann defended.

"_She's right, even I couldn't tell_," Autumn piped up, unintentionally interrupting the Martian, who glared slightly at the younger girl as she climbed onto a barrel and rolled around Conner's platform. Once M'gann landed, she continued speaking.

"_Besides, I've been using it all night. I'm not exactly the acrobat you are._"

"Y_eah, neither am I right now. I think I caught that twenty-four-hour bug that's been going around the circus. But_," Robin sighed slightly, "_the show must go on_."

Dick had rounded up certain members of the Team for an undercover mission given to them by Batman. Or so the acrobat had said.

It was really because Haly's Circus, his old home, was a prime suspect in robberies happening all over Europe. The Interpol thought that the ringleader, Jack Haly, was behind it all. Dick left with the Team to prove Haly's innocence without telling Batman, Wally, or Ren.

They had joined the Circus with their act "the Daring Dangers" to prove that wasn't the case.

After their performance for the night, the six heroes staked out the next possible target of the robbery, hoping to catch the one responsible for the act.

Conner spotted something from their rooftop spot, _'Contact. Northeast quadrant._'

The Team watched the masked baddie flip over the fence, quickly following in his footsteps. They gathered outside of one of the buildings. Robin crouched down, '_Did you see where he went?'_

Autumn tilted her head as she heard a faint noise behind her, sort of like a groan. Looking back, she saw Conner coming in for a landing. The clone started scanning the buildings, and after a few seconds, he said, "The warehouse."

The owl was surprised. How did he know that? She hadn't heard anything from that direction, and she was pretty sure that x-ray vision wasn't one of the abilities Superboy had inherited. Nevertheless, they went in the direction of the warehouse and found the man prying into a crate. Autumn shrugged off the question for the moment.

They all stood on the catwalk, and Robin cackled to get the man's attention. "Caught red-handed. Red-faced too, I'll bet."

Autumn narrowed her eyes as she saw the masked man reach into his pocket. As he pulled a torch out, she dove aside and called, "Look out!"

Nearly all of them managed to dodge the stream of flame the thief sent out, but Conner was hit. However, he was left unharmed.

Autumn was about to attack the thief, but was stopped by Roy yelling, "Those crates are full of live ammo! Move!"

The owl ran towards the exit with her team. They were still a ways away when the crates exploded, and she covered her ears. Somehow, they were all protected from the blast by thick, corrugated metal sheets. Conner, in a fit of rage, punched them out of the way and roared over the flames, "That guy's dead meat!"

Robin, holding up the unconscious Martian, stopped the clone from leaving. "Superboy, no! You need to get her out!"

"He's getting away!"

The Thanagarian stared at the enraged clone, a little scared. He was acting like he did when they first met. She hadn't seen him like this in months.

"And that matters more than Miss. M? The fire's killing her!"

Conner's eyes cleared and softened. "Right. Right." He grabbed M'gann and quickly ran out of the building.

"Artemis, Arrow, Screech, find the thief-" Robin fell to his knees. The two older heroes ran over to him and helped him up.

Knowing that she wasn't much use here, Autumn ran for the broken window nearby and flew out of it. "I'll try to find him!"

She flew above the warehouse and attempted to find the black-clad figure, but couldn't spot him. She tried to locate him by sound, but her ears were still ringing from the blast and proved themselves overall unhelpful. She flew in large circles around the building, following the alleys, but didn't find a trace.

Defeated, she returned to her teammates.

Back in one of the train cars, Autumn thought back on the conversation they had overheard between Jack Haly and the Interpol investigator. It was clear why he had lied about the bed check, but she dearly hoped that was all he had hidden. If it turned out the circus ringmaster was also the ringmaster of a robbery scheme, things would not end well.

"_So, two thieves, right?_" Artemis asked, pulling the owl back to attention. "_The Firebreather and one of the acrobats._"

"_Dressed in identical clothes,_" M'gann added.

Robin, looking at his wrist computer, said, "_Maybe not just two._" He showed the team security footage from Madrid and Paris, which respectively showed a man in black pull apart metal bars and walk across a telephone wire. It seemed the strong man and the clown were also a part of this.

"_If the entire circus is involved, Haly himself may be the mastermind_," Roy pointed out.

Robin looked up, "_You don't know that_!"

"_It would explain his lies,_" M'gann crooned.

Abruptly, the hacker stood up. "I told you to keep an open mind." And with that, he marched out of the car and slammed the door.

A few seconds of silence had passed before Autumn followed him out. Thankfully, no one stopped her. Ignoring the mental conversation still going on, she ran after Robin.

Dick walked through the frigid December air, hunching his shoulders to block out the wind. He passed along the posters displaying all of the acts that had performed at the Circus over the years. He stopped in front of the one for the Flying Graysons, thinking back to the way Haly had announced them before their performance began.

He was broken out of his train of thought by his comm beeping, "Uh, yeah?"

Wally's voice came through the other side, "Dude. Where are you?"

"Confidential mission. From Batman."

"Wow, you know what I'm doin'? Makin' a baloney sandwich, kinda like you just did. I talked to Tornado; you guys are not on a mission. Not an official one anyways."

Ren's voice joined in the conversation from her spot next to Wally at the counter, "Batdude doesn't even know you're _on_ this mission." Her tone was tense and sharp.

She was pissed.

Dick sighed, he would deal with her later, "A friend, Jack Haly."

Wally stopped himself from biting into his sandwich, "Circus guy? From your old Flying Grayson days?"

Ren froze. He had gone back to Haly's Circus… without her? Dick always turned to her when he reverted to thoughts about his old life. Why had he not done that here?

"Yeah. He's implicated in this global crime spree. Someone in the show's dirty, but I need to prove that old Jack's clean or he might lose the circus."

Wally straightened up his posture, "Then why not bring me-" He stopped short when he saw the look the Creatonian was giving him, "_Us_ along? We know your backstory. We know what that Circus means to you. It's where you grew up. It's where you lost your…"

Dick cut him off, "I left you two behind because you know my backstory. I didn't need my best pals… questioning my objectivity."

Wally saw the younger girl next to him set her jaw and take a deep breath. He knew she was trying everything to keep from calling out Dick, right then and there. He knew she knew that isn't what he needed, though. Instead, she settled for leaning near Wally's comm and saying, in a quiet tone, "We- I- could have helped."

The speedster watched her stalk away, before replying to the acrobat, "Dude. That's what a best pal's for." He turned off the comm and followed Ren, hoping to get the girl to rationalize her thoughts before the rest of the Team returned.

Dick gave the poster one final, longing look before moving on.

The owl had stopped chasing Robin and hid around the corner when she saw him answering his comm. Hoping that his silence meant that he had disconnected, she jogged up to him. But now that she had caught up, she had no clue what to do next. So, timidly, she said, "Hey, Rob... You okay?"

Robin glanced at the Thanagarian that was now walking next to him; he sighed, "I'm fine. Just… reminiscing."

The owl nodded mutely. "We'll figure out what's really going on, you know."

"I hope so."

There was silence as Autumn debated whether or not to ask what was on her mind. She decided to ask and inhaled, speaking quickly, "...I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but why did you bring me along? You know I know your backstory."

Robin turned to face the shorter girl, "Because I knew you wouldn't bring it up." He ran a hand through his hair, "I'm not sure I want to deal with Tasia when we get back. I know she's gonna be ticked."

"Yeah, that's almost inevitable. But I'm sure she'll get over it eventually. You guys are best friends, after all."

He nodded, shoving his hands in his coat pockets, "You did well back there… With the performances."

The Boy Wonder wasn't entirely sure what to say to Screech. They honestly hadn't talked much since she had joined the team. He wasn't even sure why she had come after him.

"Uh, thanks," the Owl replied, rubbing the back of her neck. "You did really well too, especially considering the bug and all." Well, this conversation had gotten as awkward as any other.

"Well, the show must go on. It was kind of nice to be back." Robin leaned up against a wall and locked eyes with the younger girl, "Why did you come after me?"

Autumn shrugged, fidgeting with the lint in her pocket, "You were clearly upset, and I knew that the conversation was really hitting close to home with you. And with Tasia not here, it just... seemed right to follow." She let out a breath, watching as it turned into mist in front of her and dissipated. "Plus... I never really apologized for that fight we had months ago. I wanted to make up for it."

Robin furrowed his brows in confusion. Fight? His eyes widened a bit when he realized what she meant, "Oh… that. Don't worry about it." He let out a chuckle, "And you already apologized for that, by the way."

Autumn looked up at the boy, confusion now written on her face, "I did? When?"

"Back when you and Tas had that fight, remember? Well, to be fair, it was more of her being over dramatic and moody and you just happened to be the one she directed it towards."

"...Oh. Right. Forgot about that." She looked away, "Still sorry."

"Kiddo, it's fine. Really." He let out a laugh and smiled at the Thanagarian.

"If you say so." The girl returned her gaze to her teammate. "...Why are you smiling at me?"

"I think I'm starting to see why you and Princess get along so well."

"How so?"

"You balance her out in a way I haven't really seen before. The dynamic between the two of you works oddly perfectly. Your more cautious behavior contrasts her dramatic side nicely."

Autumn tilted her head as she considered his point. "Huh. Never really noticed that before."

Robin pushed off from the wall and started to head in the direction of the train, "Thank you, though, for coming to see if I was alright. We should head back."

The owl smiled as she followed him back, walking slightly fast to keep up, "You're welcome."

* * *

Autumn climbed onto the roof of the train after Artemis and got into a ready stance, standing against the buffeting wind that was trying to blow them off the roof. Her team was surrounding a blue guy in a clown suit, and he was speaking. "She made a lovely appetizer. But guess who I want for my entree?"

The man's eyes glowed green as he mentally pulled Conner over to him, gripping the clone's chin. "Mmm, now _that's_ the full-bodied Kryptonian flavor I love!"

Conner groaned as he tried to get out of the Parasite's grip.

"Everyone, stay whelmed!" Robin called. "Subdue, but keep your distance!"

Seeing as she didn't have any long-range weapons, Autumn discreetly searched her pouch for something to throw while Artemis and Roy drew back their bowstrings. The villain was undeterred as he simply shot two red beams from his eyes, disintegrating the archers' weapons. The Thanagarian stared in shock. How did he get heat vision?!

With a malicious grin, the Parasite spoke. "You know, I almost never say this, but I'm sated." He dropped Conner, who collapsed in a heap. "Hate to eat and run!"

With that, the man took off, levitating his case of stolen goods behind him. The Thanagarian was about to take off after him, but Robin beat her to the punch, leaping for the case. But to no avail. The Parasite smacked the hacker, sending him down towards the train. The boy bounced off the roof and would've continued falling if M'gann hadn't caught his wrist. Roy and Artemis instantly ran over to help the Martian pull him up.

Knowing that those three had it covered, Autumn ran over to Conner, who was still laying on the roof. Crouching down beside him, she asked, "Are you okay?"

"I'm all right," he muttered, getting to his knees.

The owl looked over to see that the other three had gotten Robin back on the roof. "You sure?"

"Yes."

"Good." Autumn took off the red and white coat she had gotten for the mission and ran for the edge of the car. "I'll try to catch up to Parasite!" She yelled back at her team as she spread her wings and took flight. The Owl felt like someone was watching her, but didn't look back lest she lose track of the already far-off villain. Little did she know that the pair of eyes she felt belonged to a certain annoyed Martian, who was standing beside her boyfriend.

Soon after, her comm beeped. The owl answered it, and Robin's voice came through. "Keep us updated on where he's going and try to stay out of earshot. Parasite probably got Superboy's super hearing."

"I will."

* * *

The Team quickly figured out that Parasite was heading towards Geneva, and Autumn were ordered via comm to wait for them and not engage. They wanted to use the element of surprise.

However, this went wrong with the simple mishap of Conner charging in another fit of rage. They managed to bring the guy down anyway, but after the fight, Autumn was left to stare once again at her Kryptonian teammate in concerned confusion. What was going on with him? She'd have to keep an eye on him and figure it out. Maybe it had something to do with Superman again.

Still, at least, something good came out of this mission.

Conner, M'gann, Artemis, and Autumn were no longer mole suspects.

And, Autumn thought as she jumped from barrel to barrel in their farewell performance, Richard looked like he was having the time of his life on that trapeze.

* * *

December 23, 2010

The six heroes returned from Geneva the following day only to be greeted by irritated mentors. The talks each of them received were anything but fun. For Dick, Batman's lecture wasn't even the worst part of it. If anything, Bats wasn't all that angry.

He understood why Dick had done what he did.

And so did Ren. Her problem was the fact that she had been left behind. Ren despised being left out of the circle. When Dick had tried to talk to her a few hours after getting back, the boy was less than surprised that he was getting the silent treatment.

That girl was ridiculous.

She would completely avoid him, spending her time with Sterling, Wally, Autumn, or basically anyone but him. Dick knew there was no point in constantly apologizing or trying to talk to her. He just needed to let things run their course.

And it wasn't even that Ren was trying to get him to apologize in the first place. She was angry and confused and didn't know how to talk to him about it. Her solution was then not talking to him at all. Not exactly the wisest choice in retrospect, which she would come to realize later on.

Wally watched as Dick shot Ren a glance as she walked by with Artemis. The speedster shook his head, "The girl has got to learn to talk to people."

Dick nodded, "You're telling me. She's great to talk to, but heaven forbids she show any type of weakness."

"She'll come around."

"I know. She always does."

* * *

Ren leaned back on her headboard with her guitar on her lap, absentmindedly plucking at the strings. Why had Dick left her behind?

He said because it was because she knew his backstory. But, he had brought Autumn, who also knew the details of it. And wouldn't her knowing help with the mission in some aspects?

'_You weren't important enough. You couldn't have helped him.'_

Ren squeezed her eyes shut. No. The voice was wrong. She could have helped him. She wanted to help him.

All she wanted to do was make sure that Dick was alright. Though, she really couldn't do that if she wasn't talking to him.

'_If you apologize and admit defeat, you will show how weak you truly are.'_

Ren wanted to climb into her mind and strangle whatever that voice as. She was not weak. She could never be weak.

She was strong and collected.

She was fine. She was always fine.

Ren was snapped out of her thoughts when she heard a knock on her door. She glanced over to it, wondering who it could be, "It's open."

The door opened to reveal her younger brother, who was wearing a very irritated look on his face. Ren set her guitar off to the side, "Whatcha need, Gar-bear?"

The eleven-year-old stepped into the room, "Don't call me that. And what are you doing?"

"Sitting on my bed."

"Ren, you know what I mean. Why are you and Dick not talking?"

The girl avoided her brother's gaze, "It's more of me not talking and him accepting it."

Garfield let out an exasperated sigh as he sat on her bed, "You know what I mean. And you always do this, until me or Uncle Bruce tells you to knock it off. It's getting old, Ren."

She played with her hands, still not meeting his eyes, "I know. I know. It's just… sometimes not talking is better than talking because talking can lead to a bigger argument."

"Not if you let the other person explain."

This time, Ren looked up at her little brother with a bemused expression, "When did you become the mature one?"

Gar rolled his eyes, "I've always been the mature one."

She snorted, "Yeah right."

"For real, though, you've got to talk to Dick. Alright? And, Ren, please try to stop doing this dance every time you get annoyed with someone."

"Yeah. Yeah. I know, I tend to be a drama queen sometimes."

"Sometimes?"

Ren gave her brother a light shove, "Shut up. Fine… I'll talk to Dick, and I will try not to do the dance, as you so poetically put it, every time."

Gar smiled, "Good."

The girl leaned over and ruffled the younger one's hair, "Thanks, Gar-bear."

He ducked away from her hand, "It's my job. And stop calling me Gar-bear."

"Hmm… nope. Gar-bear."

Garfield let out a groan.

* * *

Ren found Dick training in the smaller gym the Manor held. He was flipping around on some of the bars when she walked into the room. A wave of air freshener and sweat hit her nose, making it scrunch up. The boy should have realized by now that a can of Febreze does not make every odor go away.

Dick landed on one of the mats when he saw the Creatonian enter. He took a drink from his water bottle and wiped off his forehead with a towel before turning his attention to the girl, "Hey."

She gave him a small smile, "Hey."

Dick sat down on one of the benches and patted the seat next to him, suspecting that Ren was finally going to talk to him. She sat down and sighed, "We could have helped."

"I know."

"Why did you leave us behind?"

The Acrobat's eyes were locked on the ground, "It was easier, I guess. I didn't need any more reminders of that night…"

Ren blinked, "I-I remind you of that night?"

Dick's head shot up, realizing how that sounded, "No, no! You don't. If anything, you distract me from the memories. I guess I thought that bringing you to along might allude to my connection to the Circus even more, with how you and Wally might act around me."

The Creatonian scuffed her feet on the ground, "We still could have helped."

"I know."

Ren looked at Dick, "All I want to do is help."

He smiled, "And you do. You always have. I don't know what I'd do without you, Princess."

"Right back atcha, Dickie-bird."

Dick chuckled at the nickname before reaching over and pulling the girl into an embrace, "Come here."

Ren made a jokingly grossed out sound and made a feeble attempt to pull away while laughing, "Ew! Stop it. You're all sweaty."

She soon relaxed into the hug and returned it, resting her chin on her best friend's shoulder. It was silent for a few moments before Dick let out a muffled, "Ren?"

"Yeah?"

"I'm never going to lose you, right?"

"Never. I promise. I'm never gonna lose you, either?"

"Not in a million years, Princess."

Ren smiled, "Good."


	17. All Year Round: Because Christmas

**A/N: Hallie: I'M STILL CHRISTMAS AF SO HERE YA GO. *jams out to _Christmas the Whole Year Round_ by Sabrina Carpenter* No, but for real, we just got busy. And procrastinated. I'm sorry. We're awful. This month we will try and wrap up Flight of Mind [three chapters to go]! **

**Emu would have something to say, but she is off watching Batman vs. Superman and I am hella impatient. So… she says hi! [She helped to co-write this, of course.]**

**We do not own DC, Young Justice, or any Christmas movie mentioned. **

**I do own Ren Logan, Joshua Logan, Creatonia, and the Voice.**

**Emu owns Autumn Pines and the Owl Thanagarian subspecies.**

**Leave a review if you enjoyed it! :D**

* * *

December 24, 2010

Soft crystals of snow fell from the sky above Happy Harbor, twirling and tumbling about in the wind as they went.

From the warmth of Mount Justice, a young Owl sat near the window and watched their performance, semi-ignoring the party going on behind her. Not to say she wasn't having fun. She had helped the Team decorate the Cave beforehand, and the Christmas playlist Ren had set up was a good mix of traditional and modern. All of her friends and more were there, and that was the problem: there was just so many people. It came as no surprise that she had migrated to the sidelines eventually.

She turned away from the window and scanned the group, catching Shayera and Katar's eyes in the process. She sent them a quick smile and wave that they returned before going off to talk to Dinah and Oliver. The Owl continued looking around, and eventually her gaze fixed itself on Doctor Fate.

_I didn't expect Fate to show up_, she thought, a bit surprised. Then a thought hit her: _This is Zatanna's first Christmas without her dad and the fact that his physical form is right in front of her will make it even worse_.

Remembering her own firsts without her parents, Autumn decided she wasn't going to leave the magician to deal with this alone and got up to find her. The search lasted all of about a minute, as Zatanna hadn't been far from Fate herself. The younger heroine sidled up behind her, "Merry Christmas Eve, Zatanna!"

The older girl was startled slightly and turned around, smiling when she caught sight of Autumn. "Hey, Screech, Merry Christmas Eve to you too."

Autumn gestured slightly at the gold-caped man who was once Giovanni Zatara. "Miss him?"

"Yeah," Zatanna sighed. "The holidays have been kind of weird without dad around."

"I bet."

That comment made the Sorceress think for a second, "What about you? Did you have anything like Christmas on your planet?"

The Owl shrugged, "Not really, the general idea of 'peace and love to all Thanagarian-kind' didn't really fit with our culture. I did read a bit about it, though. The book wasn't really focused on the holiday, but it talked about the basic idea of gift giving and family at some point. It was enough to get me interested, and I even convinced my parents to celebrate one year. They did sort of freak out when they saw me dragging a battle ax outside to cut down a tree, though. That part of the decorating ended up forbidden."

Autumn smiled fondly at the memory while Zatanna chuckled, "I imagine that'd have any parent worried."

"I suppose so, but I didn't get why they were so upset at the time. They had already given me my staff, and I was one of the best in my combat training class. Still, there's a big difference between a dagger in its scabbard and an unsheathed ax."

The magician had stared at her friend in disbelief before she started laughing. Autumn, bewildered, just sat there and tried to figure out what was so funny.

* * *

Ren adjusted the final bell on the Christmas tree and stepped back to admire her hard work. She had taken it upon herself to decorate the 6-foot tall tree in the middle of the cave that Billy had brought in. The Creatonian adored being able to decorate the Cave for the holidays- heck, she liked to decorate any room at any time of year.

She was thrilled that is was finally the holiday season. Many people saw the time of year as a stressful few weeks, but Ren saw it as a break from the real world.

Everything came together. Everything was in line.

Peaceful.

The best part, most everyone was happy. She liked it when people were happy; it made her feel better about everything going on. Ren pulled out her phone to check the list she had made, smiling when she saw the everything to tomorrow's Christmas Party was in order.

The one time Ren was good at being in control was when event or design planning. The Creatonian would happily oversee and have a hand in everything going into the celebration. She allowed her gaze to wander around the Cave, viewing all of the decorations and making sure they were all in the perfect locations. The Team and even some Leaguers had come to the Cave to help decorate.

A smile graced her face- she had done well.

Ren jolted when she felt a hand on her shoulder; she turned her head to the right to find Wally munching on a gingerbread cookie. His voice was muffled by the sweet in his mouth, "It looks great, Princess."

"Thanks, Wally. But, please, swallow before you talk. And isn't that, like your fifth cookie today?"

He shrugged, "M'gann has gotten really good at making them."

Ren snatched the last half of the gingerbread from the Speedsters hand and popped it into her mouth, "You're right, she is."

"HEY."

She grinned, "And you have the audacity to call yourself _Kid Flash_."

"You took my cookie. You just can't take a man's cookie," Wally grumbled, crossing his arms in protest.

Ren snorted, "You are not a man. You are a 15-year-old boy."

He waved her off, "Details, details." Flopping down on the couch, he said, "Are you having the usual feast tonight?"

"Yup," she replied while taking a seat next to him, bringing a knee up to her chest and resting her chin on it.

"Would a certain somebody be too upset if I so happened to speed by and steal some food?"

"You're having Christmas Eve dinner with your uncle?"

"He eats more than I do!"

The Creatonian giggled, "I'm sure it wouldn't be that big of a deal."

'_You'll ruin Christmas.'_

The gleeful expression on her face dropped, and a sigh escaped her lips. No, she wouldn't. Christmas would even be made better if Wally showed up.

'_Bruce will be cross with you. You will end up disappointing him.'_

No, she wouldn't. Everything would be okay.

Perfect.

The mental debate must have shown on her face in some aspect because she was drawn out of her thoughts by Wally calling her name. The Creatonian blinked and shook her head to clear it, "What?"

He looked at the younger girl in concern, "I said: are you alright? You seem… distressed."

Ren forced her lips into a smile, "I'm fine."

"But, Ren-"

"I'm _always_ fine."

* * *

Autumn sat at the table with her mentors, glancing at the brightly lit tree in the other room and grinning between bites. This was her second Christmas on Earth, and she absolutely adored the holiday. The lights, the music, the generosity, and the kindness many people showed during the Christmas season made it so much different than any holiday on Thanagar. Brighter. Happier.

Shayera and Katar watched her from across the table, chuckling at her elated expressions. It wasn't often that they saw her act her age, but it was inevitable on Christmas Eve.

"So, Autumn, what movies did you rent for us this year?" Shayera asked.

The Owl had discovered the movie rental store last year, just in time for Christmas. It was becoming a sort of tradition that she'd go down and get a stack of Christmas movies to watch the night before.

Her eyes lit up as she hoisted a plastic bag up onto her lap and looked through the DVDs, "I got _Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, A Christmas Carol, Santa Clause is Coming to Town, Elf, Home Alone_, and _Merry Christmas Charlie Brown_. I doubt we'll be able to see them all tonight, especially if you two fall asleep again," she mock-glared at the two hawks, but her grin belied her amusement. "I'll probably work through the remaining ones before New Years. I'm sure the Team wouldn't mind me watching them in the Cave."

Katar smiled at his charge's little jab. He and his wife had tried to stay up the year before, as they hadn't seen any of the movies before either, but hadn't quite managed it. Christmas wasn't celebrated in the Hol household until Autumn came along and had shyly given them a present the year before. "Well Little Squeak, we'll see what happens."

Autumn beamed.

The clock now read 3:23 AM, and in the Hol house, one could find two sleeping Thanagarians and a third still up and running.

As Autumn had expected, her mentors had both fallen asleep after three movies. The Owl smiled at the couple, turned down the volume on the TV, and snuggled into the blanket nest in her chair as she continued to watch _Elf_.

* * *

The fireplace crackled, giving off a warm glow to light the dark room. Dinner had been eaten- and stolen- and nothing had gone awry. It was wrong. No one was upset with her.

Everything was good.

'_Tomorrow will fail.'_

Ren wanted to scream. She wished that stupid voice would shut up for a few hours. It was Christmas Eve for crying out loud, couldn't she enjoy it will out having a negative comment every two minutes?

Taking a breath, she prepared herself for the next jab, but nothing came. Relief washed over her; maybe even a critical voice could take a night off.

The Creatonian was in her pajamas, curled up on a couch in one of the Manor's many dens, _Arthur Christmas_ playing softly on the flat screen in front of them. Dick sat a few feet to her right and Garfield was curled up right next to her on her opposite side, sound asleep. It was a tradition for the three of them to spend Christmas Eve night sleeping on the couch together.

When they were little, it was in hope to catch Santa in the middle of the night but by the time she was ten, it was just something they did. Something felt off if the three of them weren't tucked under blankets on a couch at 11:00 pm.

Her gaze wandered to the Christmas tree in the corner of the room, presents overflowing at its base. She focused in on a small package wrapped in gold paper.

Her present to Uncle Bruce.

It had taken her a while to find the right thing. Actually, she stumbled upon entirely by accident when helping Alfred tidy one of the offices. She remembered coming to a halt when her eyes landed on it.

She hadn't seen anything like it in Bruce's office. She didn't know if he had lost it or purposefully hid it away. All she knew is that she thought he should have it again. It had to have some level of importance to him.

Usually, they exchanged gifts on Christmas morning but Ren felt like this was a bit too personal to be opened in front of the rest of the family. Gently, she slipped out from underneath Gar, laying his head on a pillow instead. She crept over to the three and picked up the gift. As Ren turned around, she found Dick staring at her in confusion.

Gesturing to the gift in her hands, she mouthed, 'I'll be right back' and departed from the cozy room. Ren passed Alfred in the kitchen, and he directed to her Bruce, who was located in his office. The Creatonian gingerly stepped through the halls, her bare feet hardly making a noise as they padded closer to the open doors.

She peaked around the glass door to find her Uncle Bruce typing away at his desktop computer. Ren didn't have to say a word for him to look up from the screen and see her standing there. His eyes quickly found the golden package in her hand. Ren entered the room after Bruce gave her an affirming nod.

She made her way over to stand next to him, holding gift out to the man, "I didn't want to wait until tomorrow."

Bruce took the gift from his Goddaughter and carefully undid the wrapping. The Creatonian watched him intently, silently anticipating his reaction. The businessman froze when he could see a face through the small hole in the paper he had created.

Joshua Logan stared back up at him.

Bruce glanced up at Ren, before unwrapping the rest of the present. In his lap sat a framed photograph of him and Josh that Marie had taken on their last day as roommates together. He recalled placing the picture in a drawer a few years ago on the anniversary of Josh leaving.

"I-I thought you'd might like a photo of him around. You don't have any." Ren's voice made his gaze snap back up, and he followed her eyes to the collection of photos he had on his desk. Among them were a picture of his parents, Alfred, and a silly group picture of the kids that they had taken a couple of years ago.

She nodded at the photo in his hands, "My dad was one of your closest friends, right?"

"One of my best." Bruce was quiet for a few moments, before a small smile crossed his face, "This is wonderful, Ren. Thank you."

The Creatonian grinned, "I'm happy you like it. Dad had pretty long hair, didn't he?"

He chuckled, remembering Josh's mop of red hair, "Yes, he certainly did. Why don't you head back to the others? I'll bet the movie is almost over."

Ren nodded and began to move towards the exit. Before she left, she turned back to her Godfather, "Merry Christmas, Uncle Bruce."

"Merry Christmas, Princess."

* * *

December 25, 2010

"_Recognized: Hawkwoman, 11"_

"_Recognized: Hawkman, 10."_

"_Recognized: Screech Owl, B08"_

Autumn arrived in the cave behind her two mentors, a small bag of wrapped packages under her arm. She hadn't known exactly what to get each of her Teammates, and probably botched most of them, but it's the thought that counts.

She hoped.

The owl quickly spotted a familiar head of pink hair in the party crowd and walked over, grinning. "Merry Christmas, Tas!"

Ren turned away from Sterling- whom she had been chatting with- and greeted the younger girl, "Hey, kiddo! Happy Holidays!"

"Same to you!" She caught sight of Sterling. "And to you, Sterling. I'm not... interrupting anything, am I?" She finished, slightly timid.

He waved her off, "Naw, you're fine Tum-Tum." He rested a hand on Ren's shoulder, "See you later, darlin'."

The Creatonian waved as he left, a smile prominent on her face.

Autumn felt warmth rising to her face. "Of all the nicknames he could've given me, he chooses one that sounds like a heartburn medicine."

Ren giggled, "Tum-Tum. That's going on my list."

"Great. Now I'll never be rid of it."

"It also gives me birthday gift ideas. Speaking of gifts, I have yours nearby, and I want mine."

Autumn rolled her eyes with a smirk, rummaging in her bag and pulling out a flat present wrapped in green and red. "Impatient, are we?"

Ren nodded, "Yes, now gimme."

The owl handed it over and nervously waited for her to open it.

The Creatonian sat down on the couch a few feet away and pulled away the wrapping paper. Her eyes lit up when they saw a black and gold covered book, _The Musician's Notebook_. She flipped through the pages, seeing that there were certain ones for lyrics and others for music composition. Ren looked up at Autumn with a gleeful expression, "This is perfect! Thank you so much, Owlet."

The younger girl grinned just as gleefully, relieved she had gotten this one right. "Glad you like it."

Ren stood up, motioning for Autumn to follow her as she exited the room and headed in the direction of the Christmas tree. Underneath sat a small square package wrapped in blue metallic paper among other gifts. She picked up and handed it to her friend.

Autumn sat cross-legged where she was and carefully peeled away the paper. As the gift became visible, her vision was met with a box that had a picture of a blue Polaroid 300 Instant Camera on the front. Her eyes widened. Weren't these kind of expensive?

"Wow... Tasia, thank you." She looked up with a broad smile. "I've meant to replace that old camera."

"Well, it won't replace a good digital camera, but these things are still really cool and very retro. They've definitely made a comeback this year."

"I can see why."

A grin grew across her face as she bounced in place, "I can teach you the art of the selfie."

"Um... Selfie? Dare I ask?"

Ren stared at her in disbelief, "...You've been on Earth for more than a day, right?"

Autumn shrugged helplessly, "What do you expect from me? I barely talk to people."

"It's called the internet!" She sighed and patted the girl's head, "So much to teach you, young egg. So much."

The owl gave a resigned smile. "Great. Can't wait."

The two girls were soon interrupted by Wally bounding into the room, announcing that the food was ready. Standing up, Ren made sure that the speedster walked back with them so that there would be any food left.

Entering the main room, she saw that Barry was also being restrained by Hawkwoman. The look on his face resembled one of a puppy being teased by a treat. She almost felt sorry for him.

The rest of the Team and select Leaguers joined them in the kitchen, getting ready to dive into the buffet-style dinner M'gann, Dinah, and Kaldur had prepared. Looking around at the people she was spending this wonderful holiday with, warmth bubbled up into her chest.

It hadn't been a failure.

This was it.

Everyone was smiling.

Laughing.

It was this that made the stress of the holidays worth it. As a euphoric atmosphere filled the room, Ren turned and smiled at her friends- who each wore an elated expression.

This was it.


	18. Solitary Confidings

**A/N: Hallie: Annnndddd we are really bad at updating. This we know.**

**Emu: Honestly, we update this more than some of my personal fics, so it's not as bad as it could be. Not a good excuse, but it's something.**

**Hallie: Ignore the fanfictions I haven't updated in over a year. They don't exist right now. Anywho, we're back now.**

**I own Ren, Josh, Creatonia, and the Voice.**

**Emu owns Autumn and Owl Thanagarians.**

**We do not own Young Justice or DC.**

**Feedback is always appreciated. :D**

**Emu: Enjoy!**

* * *

December 30, 2010

It was a good day for the Team. They had beat the bad guys, intercepted some dangerous biotechnology, managed to do it all without one of theirs getting hurt, and Batman had let it all slide.

Of course, that didn't mean the day was over.

As it turned out, Conner had a second dad, who had chosen to summon him to Santa Prisca as he was walking away from another Mole conversation. This encouraged Artemis to reveal her misfortune of being related to Sportsmaster and Cheshire, and that she had also been called to the island.

Autumn was sure that was all the surprises they were going to get today. After all, what were the odds of three of them having a secret worthy of Lex Luthor's attention?

_Then again_, she thought as M'gann stepped up,_ this team decimates the odds on a regular basis._

And so the third secret of the day was revealed. Queen Bee was using M'gann's true form to blackmail her.

This one confused the Owl. They had already seen M'gann's true form- after they had found M'gann watching _Hello, Megan!_ with Ren's little brother one afternoon- and it hadn't made any difference. How could Queen Bee use that as blackmail?

Robin echoed her sentiments. "Bald M'gann? Who cares if-"

"No," the green girl stopped him. Then, with a sigh, she transformed. Her skin turned white; she grew taller; her arms lengthened until they reached the ground, and her five fingers became two long ones. What looked like purple muscles showed in places and her hip bones jutted out. There was no resemblance to the M'gann that they all knew.

As much as she would like to deny it, Autumn would be the first to admit that she had stepped back in surprise and- ashamedly- with a pang of fear. She instantly felt guilty as the newly revealed White Martian hugged herself and stared at the floor. "I realized that you would never accept me if you saw what I really am."

"M'gann, did we truly seem so shallow?" Kaldur responded- voice tinged with a slightly chiding tone, and Autumn inwardly winced. Had they given out that impression? Had she?

Ren spoke up from her spot next to Sol, in a gentler demeanor, meant to soothe the anxious Martian, "If anyone in the world was going to accept you for who you really are, it would be us."

"I couldn't take the chance," M'gann whispered. "Being a white Martian among the green on Mars, I endured constant rejection."

"_Déjà vu_," the Owl Thanagarian whispered almost inaudibly, empathetic gaze on her distraught teammate.

"I couldn't face that from-"

"From me?" Conner walked up and took his girlfriend's hand, then stared into her eyes.

Autumn didn't know what was said between the two and didn't expect ever to find out. Whatever it was put M'gann into better spirits, so the Thanagarian assumed Conner was reassuring her and smiled.

Good moments don't last, though, and it was soon time to get to work.

* * *

As Autumn looked around the room in search of another way to help with mission prep, she saw Conner coming her way with a determined glint in his eye. She thought it was directed towards the mission until he grabbed her arm and took her aside.

"Conner! What're you-?"

"We need to talk, Screech Owl."

Apprehension gripped her heart. "About what?"

* * *

The Team was getting ready for the mission up ahead, making sure that every detail was accounted for, so no mistakes would be made. The others were probably doing extra to prepare, and usually, Ren would be too.

But she couldn't this time.

The voice would grow louder in bouts. One day it would be relatively silent, and the next it wouldn't shut up. The Creatonian had the feeling that she would have to grow used to this new pattern, for it didn't seem to be letting up anytime soon.

Today, her mind was chaos. Every action: criticized. Every thought: condemned.

Ren found herself curled up in a hidden corner of the library, in an area where she was nearly sure no one would discover her. She couldn't allow her teammates- her friends- to see her in this state.

Not now, not ever.

_'Imagine what they would think of you if you told them about me. A voice that's not yours speaking to you. They'd call you crazy. Is that what you are? Crazy?'_

No.

No!

She wasn't crazy. She was fine.

She was always fine.

_'You keep trying to block me out but you can't. I know you, my Little Dreamer. I know you better than anyone else in your life.'_

Ren squeezed her eyes shut, trying to find a way to make the whispering voice go away. But, as she had tried a hundred times before and failed, this attempt was no different. The Creatonian had tried to question the voice, ask it what it wanted.

What it was.

The voice would just dance around the questions, leaving her with vague answers that left her craving more information. She didn't know what was going on.

And she hated not knowing.

Ren tried to convince herself to talk to her Uncle Bruce or J'onn. Someone that might be able to help decipher the thing that was messing up her usually orderly mind. But talking meant that she wasn't able to handle the problem on her own.

Uncle Bruce had taught her to handle things on her own.

So, that's what she had to do.

She had to make him proud.

She was Serenity Logan. She didn't have to _talk._

That wasn't who she was. Ren sucked in a slow deep breath in an attempt to calm her nerves. Everything would be okay. She refused to let anyone see anything different.

_'Such stubborn resilience. So much like your father.'_

Her head shot up from where it had been resting on her knees. Her… father?

* * *

The Kryptonian clone fixed his teammate with one of his looks. "When M'gann said that she was constantly rejected on Mars, you said, 'Déjà vu.' Care to explain why?"

"Um, well..." _No, not really. I hate it when other people have super hearing._ Autumn wondered how much info she could leave out but instantly discarded the thought. However ashamed she may be of her past failures, laying it all out beat possibly making Conner mad. Angry Conner was scary.

With a resigned sigh, the girl started speaking, "You've heard me say that Thanagar isn't a good place for owls, right?"

Conner gave a short nod, and Autumn continued, "On Thanagar, there are two races. Most equalists call them Owls and Hawks, which my grandfather started. Owls are the minority and a lot of Hawks don't think very highly of us. Naturally, some of them are more obvious about this than others. I was a favored target in my classroom, and my teacher left me to fend for myself, which I... Failed at, badly." Shame turned her cheeks pink, and she glanced away. "I knew someone who got them to stop for a few months, but..." She shrugged, "she ended up joining them. I suppose I wasn't worth the trouble." _Can't blame her, really._

"So... Yeah," she finished lamely, staring at a place somewhere to the right of Conner. Mentally, she started begging; _Please don't give me any pity, turn around and let's go, just blame me and then mission time. Time to go. Please._

Conner looked down at the tiny girl as she fidgeted with a loose string on her glove. He had anticipated most of her story but hadn't thought that she'd give him a straight answer and wasn't sure what to do now.

But her last comment bothered the clone. He didn't know much about his youngest teammate, but she was loyal, witty, and polite enough, if not friendly. There was certainly nothing about her that would make him leave her to a bunch of bullies, so why did she think there was?

And then there was the fact that she looked embarrassed about it all, which Conner couldn't understand. If she was this small now, he could only imagine how tiny she was when she went to school with these people. Logically, Autumn would've had a little chance of fighting off an attacker, and even less if there was more than one. Conner knew she was a logically inclined person, so why couldn't she see this?

Was her self-esteem really that low? Or was there more to it?

Unsure of what to make of Conner's silence, Autumn was about to bolt for the bioship when her teammate's hand hesitantly made its way to her shoulder. Still uncertain, Conner cleared his throat and said, "If you ever, um, want to talk..." He gestured to the door of his bedroom across the hall.

Autumn got the message and smiled nervously. "Will do. But we should probably get going now."

"Yeah." Conner let go of her shoulder and started for the rest of the Team. Autumn followed, catching a relieved sigh before it left her lips for Conner to hear.

Moments later, she realized that there was a head of pink hair missing from the group. In fact, she hadn't seen Ren since the little Team chat. She was typically right in the thick of mission prep. Where'd she go?

Silently, Autumn went off to search the common prep areas, but Ren wasn't seen in any one of them.

Leaning against the walls, the Owl stared at the corner and worried at her loose glove string again. It was almost time to go.

_Okay, I'll check the training room first, then the ledge outside, and then the library._ With a sharp nod, she set off to do just that.

_I hope nothing's wrong..._

* * *

Ren just sat there, breathing. Trying to comprehend what the voice had just told her. Usually, she spoke to the voice through her thoughts but this time, she spoke aloud. Her throat let out a hoarse whisper, "...Daddy. You mentioned my father like you knew him. Did you know him?"

Her mind was silent for a few moments that seemed to stretch over an eternity.

_'Yes. Joshua. He wasn't very cooperative, but I'm sure you'll do much better than he ever did.'_

The Creatonian's arms wrapped around her knees, hands grasping at the cloth of her pants, "H-how did you know my dad?"

_'I was with your father for quite a while. He didn't listen very well when I warned him.'_

"Warned him of what?"

_'Us, my Little Dreamer. Us.'_

...Us? What 'us'?

There was no us.

There was just her, Ren, sitting alone with a voice in her mind that she was 99% sure didn't belong to her. A partnership was not present and would never be present.

_'Don't be so sure about that.'_

After that, the voice went quiet. Like it had said what it needed to say and was done for now. Any other time, Ren would be pleased to rid of the mental nuisance, but now she wanted it back so she could get some answers.

How did this… _thing_ know her father?

What did it have to do with her dad?

What was it exactly and what did it want?

And was her Uncle Bruce aware of this voice being in her father's head like it was hers?

...Should she ask?

No. What if she ended up being wrong and painted herself as a fool? She couldn't risk that. But, if the voice wasn't going to give her the answers she desired, she'd just have to get them herself.

Ren was jolted out of her train of thought when she felt a sudden hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she found Autumn staring down at her- confused and concerned.

Seeing the Creatonian's eyes focus on her, Autumn took her hand away but made little effort to conceal her justified worry.

"Ren? Are you-?" The Owl stopped, visibly fighting with herself. _Are you okay? Do you want to sit this mission out? Who were you talking to? Who warned who of what?!_ Her mind screamed, but she forced herself to hold her tongue. She knew the answer she would get to the first two questions, and that she probably wouldn't get a reply to the other two. So she swallowed down the impulse to ask, stood up from where she was crouched next to Ren, and held out a hand. "It's time to go," she murmured.

Ren sat there for a minute, trying to assess the situation and the best way to react to it. One of her closest friends just found her in a vulnerable state, something that she never wanted. She closed her eyes and took a few cleansing breaths before standing up, completely ignoring her friend's outstretched hand.

She gave Autumn a quick nod, "Thanks for telling me."

Ren took a few steps forward as she began to leave the library but soon stopped to turn back towards the Thanagarian, "And Autumn, _this_ never happened. Okay?"

The Owl returned her hand to her side and nodded. "Not a soul."


	19. Emergence

**A/N: Hallie: ONE CHAPTER LEFT OF FLIGHT OF MIND AFTER THIS~! Sad but happy to be moving on to the next installment of this series. :D**

**Emu's off doing things atm, so I'm handling the A/N. She sends her regards. **

**We do not own Young Justice or DC.**

**I do own Ren, Josh, Creatonia, and the Voice.**

**Emu owns Autumn and the Owl Thanagarian subrace. **

**Feedback is always appreciated!**

**Enjoy! :)**

* * *

December 31, 2010

"Robin, Kid, Zatanna, Fantasia, see if you can get Tornado back online. The rest, with me to find Ro- Red Arrow."

It had been surprisingly easy to do so. After Artemis had found the computer log placing him at the Hall of Justice, Aqualad told them about Red Arrow's equipment cache in Washington DC. He directed M'gann to the building it was kept in and entered alone.

He quickly returned with the missing clone in tow. M'gann took off, and the quest for answers began.

Unfortunately, any doubts of Red Arrow being the mole were instantly dashed at his confirmation. But Superboy relayed the information they got from Batman and Tornado about Roy being a Cadmus clone, and the archer started to remember. He recalled Sportsmaster, his handler, the code word to shut him down, and the programmed orders he subconsciously followed.

As Red Arrow came to the end of his story, he turned to face Artemis, Screech Owl, Superboy, and Miss. Martian. "I think one of those orders was to focus suspicion on the four of you. I'm sorry."

Screech gazed wide-eyed at the red-clad Archer from her chair. Guilt welled up in her chest as she recalled her past irritation towards him. It may have been justified, but jeez, if she had known what was really going on...

She couldn't imagine finding out she had been trapped in her body and hadn't actually made her decisions for three years.

It wouldn't compensate for it, but the Owl grinned gently at the older hero and nodded in acknowledgment of his apology.

And with that, it was back to business.

* * *

Roy had successfully done his job. The League was under Vandal Savage's complete control. True, it wasn't Roy's conscious fault.

He didn't know what he was doing.

The entire life he thought he knew- a lie.

Ren truly did not know how she would react to news such as that concerning her. Ever since Autumn had found her in the library, she couldn't get the questions concerning the Voice out of her head.

The fact that it knew her father was something she doubted she would ever be able to let go of. She was aware of the fact that she was only half-listening to everything Red Tornado was saying. The main topic that stuck out was the mind-control factor.

Having no control over your mind, your actions, who you are…

Ren would be lying if she said she hadn't had thoughts wondering if those might be related to what the Voice really wanted. If so, she needed to find out more information on it, and stat.

If there was any.

She was dragged back to reality when she heard Robin comment on how powerful the devices really were to enslave the entire Justice League. Ren usually had one of the more optimistic outlooks- but how were the team of proteges supposed to take down someone the League wasn't able to?

She knew they had to figure out a way.

The Creatonian didn't want to think about what would happen if they failed. If all of their mentors and guardians were lost to Savage forever.

'_You can hardly use your own powers for anything drastic. You lack control. You are weak in that aspect. How do you ever expect to save them all? Bruce will be lost forever. Just like your father.' _

Ren clenched her eyes shut. Her father was dead, not lost. There was a difference. You could always try to get back something you lost.

And she wasn't doing this alone.

* * *

The Team met back in the bioship and compared notes. Soon after, a plan was formed. Canary, Tornado, and Red Arrow would give themselves over to Savage, bypassing security and getting into position for later. They would attack when Savage realized something was off. Meanwhile, the Team would infiltrate the Watch Tower and cure the Leaguers.

The first part of the plan went off without a hitch. Now, it was time to take on the older heroes.

Robin went to work hacking the security cameras. The Team was assigned targets, and they split up.

* * *

Superboy and Screech Owl crept through the hallways of the Watch Tower, both keeping an ear out for their target. They stopped as they picked up the sound of clanking armor a few halls away. To the smaller of the two, it was a very familiar, expected sound.

Hawkman.

Pursing her lips, the Owl fished her orb out of her pouch and activated its stealth mode around them, and they continued towards the sound until they could see the older Thanagarian patrolling the hallway.

"_Wait here until I get behind him, then get him to turn towards you and punch him towards me,"_ Screech thought to Superboy. "_I'll administer the Curotech from there." _

The Owl knew from training with Katar that he'd most likely crouch to regain his balance from the punch, and to gain more power when he launched at his opponent. This would make it easy for her to reach his neck to cure him. If she were fast enough, the fighting would be left at only the initial punch.

Superboy nodded in response, pressing himself against the wall so he wouldn't be seen when the Owl's orb got out of range.

Screech took a calming breath as she stepped out of the side hallway. Silently, she crept past her unofficial second mentor and ducked into the next side hallway.

"_Now." _

She peered around the side of the wall, Curotech in hand. _I hope this works… _

Hawkman turned towards the sound of Superboy's footsteps as the clone ran towards him. A moment later, the Thanagarian slid back from the impact of the clone's punch. As predicted, he crouched as soon as he came to a stop.

Now was her chance.

The Owl rushed out into the hallway and placed the piece of biotechnology at the base of Hawkman's neck. With a gasp, he collapsed, unconscious. Screech shuddered almost imperceptibly at the sight.

"Sorry, Katar," she whispered. She deactivated stealth mode and made her way back over to Superboy. "_On to the rendezvous?" _

"_Yeah." _

* * *

When Screech and Superboy arrived at the control room, they were attacked and separated. While Superboy took on Superman, Screech, much to her dismay, was left to an aerial battle with Hawkwoman.

This was by no means a training session. There was a death threat in the Hawk's every movement.

And there was a reason Screech had avoided straight on confrontation with Hawkman.

As mentor and protege fought, the Owl also battled against unpleasantly familiar memories pushing at the edge of her consciousness. They hadn't cropped up in a long time, but the Owl knew exactly what would happen if she succumbed to them. She would either freeze where she was, spelling her doom, or lose control completely and harm her mentor- and possibly, herself- much more than necessary.

She and the Hawks had found out about this when they first started training her. It no longer happened during sparring, and they thought she had gotten over it. Apparently, full-out Hawk attacks still triggered her, even though it was almost four years since the assault on Thanagar that had killed her parents and drove her to Earth.

Screech had never managed to beat Hawkwoman by force alone, so she focused on dodging and waiting for her mentor to slip up.

After countless dodges, it finally happened.

Hawkwoman overshot an attack, leaving the Owl with a perfect shot of the back of her head.

Already composing her apologies for when this was all over, Screech swung her staff, hitting right below where her mentor's helmet ended. The Hawk was left dazed long enough for Screech to retrieve a Curotech from her pocket and place it on her neck.

As the Leaguer passed out and started to fall, Screech grabbed her under the arms and slowed her descent as much as possible. Her legs and head would definitely hurt when she woke up, but at least she _would _ wake up.

That's not to say that the sight of her mentor lying there, unconscious, by her own hand, wasn't a tad disturbing.

Screech righted herself and looked around. Wonder Woman, Manhunter, and Batman had all been taken care of, and as she watched, Robin opened a box of Kryptonite, finishing off Superman. She winced in sympathy for both the Leaguer and his clone but knew they'd both be fine.

With no immediate danger, the Owl took a moment to catch her breath, slow her pulse, and push the flashbacks away.

* * *

All around her, the most powerful Leaguers were attacking. But, this time- they weren't on the side of justice. Ren watched as protege took on mentor.

The Leaguers were more skilled and- usually- powerful, but the Team was still taking the lead in the race for control. They didn't have to defeat their mentors, only get the cure onto their neck. Having no mentor of her own to go and save, the Creatonian helped out wherever she could.

At this moment, she wasn't sure where to go next. Robin seemed to be handling Batman fine; Conner was squaring off with Superman, and M'gann-

M'gann was able to mentally take down her uncle without breaking a sweat. Ren knew that the White Martian was powerful, more so than Manhunter, but to be able to bring him to his knees in a matter of seconds...

That was a terrifying amount.

Part of Ren's training was to be able to push the resident Martians' presence out of her Dreamscape. She could hardly handle Manhunter, how would she ever be able to fare against M'gann?

"_Fantasia, are you currently a part of anything that needs your complete attention?" _Kaldur's voice rang throughout the Creatonian's mind.

_ "As of now, no,"_ she replied.

"_I need to you locate the hub of the entire charade. Find where Savage is, but do not engage. Then inform the rest of us where his location is- we will join you as soon as possible." _

"_Will do." _

Finding Vandal Savage didn't prove to be a difficult task, for he based his operations in the central part of the Watchtower. She imagined a wall of invisibility just big enough to cover her and the ability for it to move as she did. Doing her best to stay unnoticed, she managed to keep Savage and Klarion within eyesight and hearing range without getting too close.

"_The central area of the Watchtower. Savage is located there." _Ren sent the mental message out to her teammates scattered around the HQ.

It was Kaldur who replied, "_Alright. We will be there as soon as we can. Remember: do not engage." _

Ren nodded, though Kadur wouldn't have been able to sense such a thing. Nevertheless, he didn't speak again to ask for confirmation. Her eyes were fixated on the two masterminds behind the situation. These were League villains.

These were the people that her father was supposed to be fighting.

Not her.

A pang of remorse rang in her heart as her mind drifted to the fact that she was a protege without her true mentor. She didn't have anyone to help save in this situation.

The Creatonian went rigid as she watched Vandal Savage step towards the area of the room she was trying to remain hidden in. The stoic man said nothing and stopped just inches away from where Ren was standing and- as if he could sense her- looked her straight in the eyes, "It's a shame your father is not around anymore. I could have found him very useful."

Anger flared in her chest. No one threatened her father like that.

No one was allowed to talk about him like that.

Savage turned his attention to a holo screen that projected the defeat of their mind controlled Leaguers in another room. He looked to Klarion, "Time to go."

The Witch-boy protested for a moment, before agreeing with his comrade- opening a dark portal and transporting himself and Vandal out of the Watchtower. Wally zoomed up right behind the portal as it was closing, followed soon by Kaldur, Artemis, and Zatanna.

The Atlantean knelt down beside the disabled Red Tornado, while Wally spun around the room, eyes scanning, "Tasia?"

Ren lowered the invisibility wall and joined the group of her friends, visibly downtrodden even though the Team had been victorious.

The speedster rested a hand on her shoulder, "You alright, Princess?"

Her vision looked up to meet the eyes of the boy she saw as an older brother, a small smile on her face, "Aren't I always?"

* * *

"_The central area of the Watchtower. Savage is located there." _

"_Alright. We will be there as soon as we can. Remember: do not engage." _

Tasia and Kaldur's voices grounded Screech Owl, and after a few more seconds, she felt that she could handle another fight if necessary. Resolutely ignoring her mentor, the Owl jogged out of the room, arriving in the central area just as the computer spoke.

_Happy New Year, Justice League. _

"Auld Lang Syne" started playing, and Screech looked on as her Teammates paired up and kissed. Feeling awkward and more than a little out of place, she began edging towards the door.

A huff of laughter escaped her lips as she heard Tornado say, "Human customs still elude me." She couldn't help but agree, to some extent.

* * *

As the Watchtower announced the start of a New Year, Ren was a bit surprised when she didn't feel any negative emotions as their local magician pulled her best friend in for a kiss. If those feeling were gone for however long, she wasn't going to fight it.

Kissing someone on New Year's wasn't on the top of the Creatonian's bucket list anyways. She made her way over to one of the large windows that overlooked the vastness of outer space. Stars glittered in every which way, and Ren couldn't help but feel insignificant when looking out at them.

Sure, she helped during the mission- fending off Leaguers while others stuck them with a cure. But, she didn't contribute in saving her mentor, which she didn't have.

Her father… which she didn't have.

And then there was the Voice, who claimed to know the same man who allowed her to exist. A bit of valuable information that she wasn't sure how to proceed with.

A figure entered Ren's peripheral vision. She fully turned her head to see that Sterling had taken a place next to her. He had been absent for the past few minutes- most likely checking on his respective mentor Kiran, whom he saw as an older sister.

Her heart fluttered.

She froze.

Well, that was new.

"I'd love to figure out a way to get some footage of a sight like this." Sterling's voice was soft as he spoke.

She nodded, "It is amazing."

The rest of the Team could have easily noticed Ren's gloomier demeanor, but not Sterling. She couldn't put into words how glad she was that the boy didn't ask how she was. All he did was throw an arm around her shoulders, giving her a squeeze.

The Creatonian found herself falling into his half-embrace, resting her head on his shoulder. The Southerner looked down fondly at her and pressed a lingering kiss to the crown of her head, "Happy New Years, darlin'."

"Happy New Years, Cowboy."


End file.
